§ 171.047.Rights of Party at Hearing

Three rights, and they are what make an arbitration hearing a hearing.

The right to be heard comes first. A party is entitled to put its position before the arbitrators.

The second is the right to present evidence material to the controversy. Materiality is the limit; the arbitrators need not receive everything.

The third is the right to cross-examine any witness. That is the one an informal proceeding is most likely to shortchange.

These are defaults the parties can alter. The section applies unless otherwise provided by the agreement to arbitrate, so a documents-only procedure can be agreed to.

Denying them puts the award at risk. Section 171.088(a)(3)(C) makes refusal to hear material evidence a vacatur ground, and Section 171.088(a)(3)(D) names this section directly.

Prejudice is required for that vacatur. The hearing must have been conducted in a manner that substantially prejudiced a party’s rights.

Section 171.048 adds the fourth right — representation by an attorney, which cannot be waived in advance.

Together the two sections describe a proceeding that is informal but adversarial, without the rules of evidence and with the essentials of a fair hearing intact.