Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, parties to an arbitration agreement and arbitrators have grappled with the issue of the right to a live, in-person arbitration hearing. Is there a due process concern that flows from conducting remote proceedings over one side’s insistence on in-person hearing? For example, parties’ facility with presenting testimony and evidence remotely may be limited, arbitrators’ technical proficiency may be lacking, and they may be uncomfortable with taking evidence remotely. Then there is the difficulty of presenting the case effectively across different time zones and the potential unfair advantage to one party over another caused by requiring one party’s witnesses and evidence to be presented outside normal business hours. In some cases, there may be physical evidence that is difficult to present remotely or the need for a site visit.
Continue Reading Insisting on Live, In-person Arbitration Hearings During The Pandemic