§ 171.044.Time and Place of Hearing; Notice

Notice of the hearing, with a short deadline and a strict method.

The arbitrators set the time and place and notify each party, unless the agreement provides otherwise.

Notice is due no later than the fifth day before the hearing. That is the statutory floor, and institutional rules or the agreement often require more.

The method is prescribed. Personal service, or registered or certified mail with return receipt requested.

The return receipt is the point of the mail option. It creates proof that notice went out, which matters because Section 171.046 allows the hearing to proceed without an absent party.

Appearance waives the notice. A party who shows up cannot complain afterward that the notice was short or improperly served.

A court can push a stalled arbitration forward. On application, the court may direct the arbitrators to proceed promptly with the hearing and determination of the controversy.

That is one of the few places the chapter lets a court reach into a pending arbitration, and it is aimed at delay rather than at the merits.

Defective notice can cost the award. Section 171.088(a)(3)(D) makes conducting the hearing contrary to this section a ground for vacatur where a party was substantially prejudiced.