North Carolina § 1-567 - 50A. Consolidation.

§ 1-567. 50A. Consolidation.

Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this section, upon motion of a party to an arbitration agreement or to an arbitral proceeding, the court may order consolidation of separate arbitration proceedings as to all or some of the claims if all of the following are true: There are separate arbitration agreements or separate arbitral proceedings between the same parties or one of the parties is a party to a separate agreement to arbitrate or a separate arbitration with a third person. The claims subject to the arbitration agreements arise in substantial part from the same transaction or series of related transactions. The existence of a common issue of law or fact creates the possibility of conflicting decisions in the separate arbitral proceedings. Prejudice resulting from a failure to consolidate is not outweighed by the risk of undue delay or prejudice to the rights of or hardship to parties opposing consolidation. The court may order consolidation of separate arbitral proceedings as to some claims and allow other claims to be resolved in separate arbitral proceedings. The court shall not order consolidation of the claims of a party to an arbitration agreement if the agreement prohibits consolidation. History (2017-171, s. 1.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-171, s. 2 made this section, as enacted by Session Laws 2017-171, s. 1, effective October 1, 2017, and applicable to agreements entered into, renewed, or modified on or after that date.