Pennsylvania § 7395 - Immunity of arbitrator.

§ 7395. Immunity of arbitrator.

(a) Civil liability.--An arbitrator or arbitration organization acting in that capacity in a family law dispute is immune from civil liability to the same extent as a judge of a court of this Commonwealth acting in a judicial capacity.

(b) Sovereign immunity.--The immunity provided by this section supplements immunity under:

(1) 1 Pa.C.S. § 2310 (relating to sovereign immunity reaffirmed; specific waiver); and

(2) Subchapter B of Chapter 85 (relating to actions against Commonwealth parties).

(c) Nondisclosure.--An arbitrator's failure to make a disclosure under section 7379 (relating to disclosure by arbitrator and disqualification) does not cause the arbitrator to lose immunity under this section.

(d) Testimony.--

(1) Except as set forth in paragraph (2), an arbitrator is not competent to testify, and may not be required to produce records, in a judicial, administrative or similar proceeding about a statement, conduct, decision or ruling occurring during an arbitration, to the same extent as a judge of a court of this Commonwealth acting in a judicial capacity.

(2) This subsection does not apply:

(i) to the extent disclosure is necessary to determine a claim by the arbitrator or arbitration organization against a party to the arbitration; or

(ii) to a hearing on a motion under section 7389(a)(1) or (2) (relating to vacation, amendment or confirmation by court of unconfirmed award) if there is prima facie evidence that a ground for vacating the award exists.

(e) Attorney fees and costs.--If a person commences a civil action against an arbitrator arising from the services of the arbitrator or seeks to compel the arbitrator to testify or produce records in violation of subsection (d) and the court determines that the arbitrator is immune from civil liability or is not competent to testify or required to produce the records, the court shall award the arbitrator reasonable attorney fees and costs.