§ 172.006.Waiver of Right to Object

An objection kept in reserve is an objection lost.

Knowledge plus participation equals waiver. A party who proceeds with the arbitration knowing that a provision has not been complied with waives the right to object.

Two provisions are covered — a provision of this chapter, and a provision of the arbitration agreement.

Objecting preserves the point. The waiver does not apply if the party states the objection without undue delay, or within any period the chapter provides for it.

"Without undue delay" is the general standard, and it means promptly after the party learns of the problem.

The rule is limited to variable provisions. It applies only to a provision of this chapter as to which the parties may agree to act differently.

That limit is the important half. Mandatory protections — equal treatment under Section 172.101, a full opportunity to present a case — cannot be lost by silence.

The purpose is to stop strategic silence. A party who spots a defect and says nothing, planning to raise it if the award goes the wrong way, is exactly who this section is written for.

Similar rules appear throughout the chapter — the pleading deadlines in Section 172.082 and the challenge deadlines in Section 172.059, each running from the moment a party learns of the ground.