(a) Postponement of Hearings
(1) When a Hearing Shall Be Postponed
A hearing shall be postponed:
(A) by agreement of the parties; or
(B) if FINRA notifies a customer that a member or an associated person has become inactive as set forth in Rule 12202, the scheduled hearing date is within 60 days of the date the customer receives the notice from FINRA, and the customer chooses to postpone the hearing date.
(2) When a Hearing May Be Postponed
A hearing may be postponed:
(A) By the Director, in extraordinary circumstances;
(B) By the panel, in its own discretion; or
(C) By the panel, upon motion of a party.
The panel may not grant a motion to postpone a hearing made within 10 days of the date that the hearing is scheduled to begin, unless the panel determines that good cause exists.
(b) Postponement Fees
(1) Except as otherwise provided, a postponement fee will be charged for each postponement agreed to by the parties, or granted upon request of one or more parties. The fee will equal the applicable hearing session fee under
Rule 12902. The panel may allocate the fee among the party or parties that agreed to or requested the postponement. The panel may also assess part or all of any postponement fees against a party that did not request the postponement, if the panel determines that the non-requesting party caused or contributed to the need for the postponement. The panel may waive the fees.
(2) If a postponement request is made by one or more parties within 10 days before a scheduled hearing session and granted, the party or parties making the request shall pay an additional fee of $600 per arbitrator. If more than one party requests the postponement, the arbitrators shall allocate the $600 per arbitrator fee among the requesting parties. The arbitrators may allocate all or a portion of the $600 per arbitrator fee to the non-requesting party or parties, if the arbitrators determine that the non-requesting party or parties caused or contributed to the need for the postponement. In the event that a request results in the postponement of consecutively scheduled hearing sessions, the additional fee will be assessed only for the first of the consecutively scheduled hearing sessions. In the event that an extraordinary circumstance prevents a party or parties from making a timely postponement request, arbitrators may use their discretion to waive the fee, provided verification of such circumstance is received.
(3) No postponement fee will be charged if a hearing is postponed:
(A) Because the parties agree to submit the matter to mediation administered through FINRA, except that the parties shall pay the additional fees described in Rule 12601(b)(2) for late postponement requests;
(B) By the panel in its own discretion; or
(C) By the Director in extraordinary circumstances.
(4) No postponement fee under Rule 12601(b)(1) or additional fee of $600 per arbitrator under Rule 12601(b)(2) will be charged if a customer postpones a hearing under Rule 12601(a)(1)(B).
(c) Dismissal of Arbitration Due to Multiple Postponements
If all parties jointly request, or agree to, more than two postponements, the panel may dismiss the arbitration without prejudice.
