(a) A prehearing conference may be scheduled upon the joint request of the parties or at the discretion of the Director. The Director will set the time and place of the prehearing conference and appoint a person to preside.
(b) At a party's request, or at the discretion of the panel, the panel may schedule one or more additional prehearing conferences regarding any outstanding preliminary matters, including:
(1) Discovery disputes;
(2) Motions;
(3) Witness lists and subpoenas;
(4) Stipulations of fact;
(5) Unresolved scheduling issues;
(6) Contested issues on which the parties will submit briefs; and
(7) Any other matter that will simplify or expedite the arbitration.
(c) The panel will determine the time and place of any additional prehearing conferences. Prehearing conferences will generally be held by telephone. Unless the full panel is required under [Rule 12503], prehearing conferences may be held before a single arbitrator, generally the chairperson.
(d) If a cancellation request is agreed to by the parties or requested by one or more parties within three business days before a scheduled prehearing conference and granted, the party or parties shall be charged a fee of $100 per arbitrator scheduled to attend the prehearing conference. If more than one party requests the cancellation, the arbitrator(s) may allocate the $100 per-arbitrator fee between or among the requesting parties. If one party requests the cancellation, the arbitrator(s) shall allocate the fee to that party; provided, however, the arbitrator(s) may allocate all or a portion of the $100 per-arbitrator fee to the non-requesting party or parties if the arbitrator(s) determine that the non-requesting party or parties caused or contributed to the need for the cancellation. In the event that an extraordinary circumstance prevents a party or parties from making a timely cancellation request, the arbitrator(s) may use their discretion to waive the fee, provided a written explanation of such circumstance is received.
