Montana § 40-16-113 - Powers And Duties Of Arbitrator

§ 40-16-113. Powers And Duties Of Arbitrator

Powers and duties of arbitrator. (1) An arbitrator shall conduct an arbitration in a manner the arbitrator considers appropriate for a fair and expeditious disposition of the dispute. (2) An arbitrator shall provide each party a right to be heard, to present evidence material to the family law dispute, and to cross-examine witnesses. (3) Unless the parties otherwise agree in a record, an arbitrator's powers include the power to: (a) select the rules for conducting the arbitration; (b) hold conferences with the parties before a hearing; (c) determine the date, time, and place of a hearing; (d) require a party to provide: (i) a copy of a relevant court order; (ii) information required to be disclosed in a family law proceeding under Title 40; and (iii) a proposed award that addresses each issue in arbitration; (e) meet with or interview a child who is the subject of a child-related dispute; (f) appoint a private expert at the expense of the parties; (g) administer an oath or affirmation and issue a subpoena for the attendance of a witness or the production of documents and other evidence at a hearing; (h) compel discovery concerning the family law dispute and determine the date, time, and place of discovery; (i) determine the admissibility and weight of evidence; (j) permit deposition of a witness for use as evidence at a hearing; (k) for good cause, prohibit a party from disclosing information; (l) appoint an attorney, guardian ad litem, or other representative for a child at the expense of the parties; (m) impose a procedure to protect a party or child from risk of harm, harassment, or intimidation; (n) allocate arbitration fees, attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and other costs for the parties; and (o) impose a sanction on a party for bad faith or misconduct during the arbitration according to standards governing imposition of a sanction for litigant misconduct in a family law proceeding. (4) An arbitrator may not allow ex parte communication except to the extent allowed in a family law proceeding for communication with a judge.