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organizations is appropriate because the duties that they | | perform in administering the arbitration process are the | | functional equivalent of the roles and responsibilities of | | judges administering the adjudication process in a court of law. | | There is substantial precedent for this conclusion. See, e.g., | | New England Cleaning Serv., Inc. v. American Arbitration Ass'n, | | 199 F.3d 542 (1st Cir. 1999); Honn v. National Ass'n of Sec. | | Dealers, Inc., 182 F.3d 1014 (8th Cir. 1999); Hawkins v. | | National Ass'n of Sec. Dealers, Inc., 149 F.3d 330 (5th Cir. | | 1998); Olson v. National Ass'n of Sec. Dealers, Inc., 85 F.3d | | 381 (8th Cir. 1996); Aerojet-General Corp. v. American | | Arbitration Ass'n, 478 F.2d 248 (9th Cir. 1973); Cort v. | | American Arbitration Ass'n, 795 F. Supp. 970 (N.D. Cal. 1992); | | Boraks v. American Arbitration Ass'n, 205 Mich.App. 149, 517 | | N.W.2d 771 (1994); Candor v. American Arbitration Ass'n, 97 | | Misc. 2d 267, 411 N.Y.S.2d 162 (Sup. Ct., Tioga Cty. 1978). |
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| | | 3. Section 14(b) makes clear that the statutory grant of | | immunity is intended to supplement, and not diminish, the | | immunity granted arbitrators and neutral arbitration | | organizations under any judicial, statutory or other law. |
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| | | 4. Section 14(c) is included to insure that, if an | | arbitrator fails to make a disclosure required by Section 12, | | then the typical remedy is vacatur under Section 23 and not | | loss of arbitral immunity under Section 14. Such a result is | | similar to the effect of judicial immunity. |
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| | | 5. Section 14(d) is based on the California Evidence Code, | | which provides that arbitrators shall not be "competent to | | testify * * * as to any statement, conduct, decision, or | | ruling occurring at or in conjunction with the prior | | proceeding." Cal. Evid. Code § 703.5. New York and New Jersey | | have adopted similar provisions that prohibit anyone from | | calling an arbitrator as a witness in a subsequent proceeding. | | N.J.R. Super. Ct. R. 4:21A-4; N.Y. Ct. R. §28.12. Consistent | | with the protections afforded judges, Section 14(d) is | | intended to protect an arbitrator or a representative of an | | arbitration organization from being required to testify or | | produce records from an arbitration proceeding in any civil | | action, administrative proceeding, or related matter. However, | | if the law of a given State would require a judge to testify | | in a proceeding for strong public-policy reasons, such as | | involvement in a criminal matter, an arbitrator or | | representative of an arbitration organization would likewise | | be required to testify. |
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| | | An exception is made in Section 14(d)(1) for situations such | | as when an arbitrator, arbitration organization, or | | representative of an arbitration organization asserts a claim | | against a party to the arbitration proceeding. For instance, | | an arbitrator may bring |
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