§ 172.173.Consolidation

Consolidation, and consent is required at every step.

The parties must have agreed to consolidate, in the respective arbitration agreements or otherwise.

The application requires further consent. A party applies with the consent of each other party to the agreements.

That double requirement is the design. Arbitration rests on agreement, and forcing a party into a consolidated proceeding with strangers would exceed what it agreed to.

The court may order consolidation on terms it considers just and necessary.

It may appoint the tribunal if the parties cannot all agree on one, applying the factors in Section 172.055.

It may make any other necessary order where the parties cannot agree on another matter needed to conduct the consolidated arbitration.

The court is selected as Section 171.096 provides.

The parties can do all of this themselves. Subsection (c) preserves their ability to agree to consolidate and take the steps needed, without a court.

Related contracts are the usual setting. A construction project or a supply chain generates parallel disputes on parallel contracts, and one proceeding avoids inconsistent awards.

Consolidated proceedings save more than fees. One tribunal hearing related disputes reaches one set of findings, which avoids inconsistent awards on the same facts.

The court’s role is to implement what the parties agreed, on terms it considers just and necessary, rather than to impose a joint proceeding.

Appointment is the common sticking point. Several parties who agreed to consolidate often cannot agree on who should hear the combined case, and the section sends that question to the court.