§ 172.175.Interim Orders

Urgent relief, and the section is built so that a court can act without taking the case over.

A party may ask a court for an interim measure of protection before or during an arbitration, selecting the court as Section 171.096 provides.

Court relief is available even before a tribunal exists, which is when it is most often needed.

A tribunal’s own interim order can be enforced. A party may ask the court to enforce an order granting an interim measure under Section 172.083, and the court grants enforcement as provided by the law applicable to that type of relief.

Two examples of court action are given: an attachment to keep the award from being rendered ineffectual by dissipation of party assets, and a preliminary injunction to protect a trade secret or conserve goods that are the subject matter of the dispute.

The court gives preclusive effect to the tribunal’s findings of fact, including a finding on the probable validity of the claim underlying the interim relief the tribunal granted, if the interim order is consistent with public policy.

That deference is unusual and deliberate. It keeps the court from re-trying what the tribunal has already found while granting the relief only a court can enforce.

Jurisdiction is the exception to the deference. Where the tribunal has not ruled on an objection to its jurisdiction, the court may not give preclusive effect until it makes an independent finding on that jurisdiction.

A finding of no jurisdiction ends the application. The court shall deny interim relief if it rules the tribunal lacked jurisdiction under applicable law.

This is the second section that reaches beyond Texas-seated arbitrations under Section 172.001(b).