§ 171.046.Failure of Party to Appear

The default provision, and it is narrower than a default judgment.

The arbitrators may proceed without an absent party, deciding the controversy on the evidence produced.

Notice under Section 171.044 is the condition. The absent party must have been notified as that section requires.

Absence is not an admission. The claimant still has to produce evidence, and the arbitrators decide on what is before them.

That distinguishes this from a default judgment in court, where a defendant’s failure to answer can concede the allegations outright.

The rule is a default that the agreement can change, since it applies unless otherwise provided by the agreement to arbitrate.

Without it, a party could stop an arbitration by staying home. An agreement to arbitrate would be worth little if attendance were optional.

The absent party keeps the vacatur grounds. Section 171.088(a)(4) preserves an objection that there was no agreement to arbitrate where the party did not participate without raising it.

The international chapter takes the same approach in Section 172.115, allowing an award on the evidence before the tribunal when a party does not appear without sufficient cause.