Mississippi Arbitration and Award

Table of Contents

Mississippi Arbitration and Award Statute
§ 11-15-1. Who may submit to arbitration.
§ 11-15-3. Qualifications of arbitrators.      
11-15-5. Arbitrators to appoint time of meeting and notify parties.
11-15-7. Notice to parties; form.
11-15-9. Arbitrators to be sworn.    
11-15-11. Arbitrators' meetings; procedure.
11-15-13. Swearing of witnesses.
11-15-15. Service of process.
11-15-17. Contempt.
11-15-19. Award enforcement process.
11-15-21. Confirmation of award by court.
11-15-23. Vacation of award; grounds.
11-15-25. Correction of award.
11-15-27. Motion to vacate or modify award; when made.
11-15-29. Application to vacate or modify award; new hearing.    
11-15-31. Judgments; when and how rendered.
11-15-33. Costs; how taxed and collected.
11-15-35. Pending suits may be arbitrated.
11-15-37. Construction of chapter.

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Mississippi Arbitration and Award Statute

Title 11 Civil Practice and Procedure, Chapter 15 Arbitration and Award §1 - 37

§ 11-15-1. Who may submit to arbitration.

All persons, except infants and persons of unsound mind, may, by instrument of writing, submit to the decision of one or more arbitrators any controversy which may be existing between them, which might be the subject of an action, and may, in such submission, agree that the court having jurisdiction of the subject matter shall render judgment on the award made pursuant to such submission. In such case, however, should the parties agree upon a court without jurisdiction of the subject matters of the award, the judgment shall be rendered by the court having jurisdiction in the county of the residence of the party, or some one of them, against whom the award shall be made.
    
§ 11-15-3. Qualifications of arbitrators.
    
A person shall not act as an arbitrator where he is interested in the subject matter in dispute, nor where he is related, by consanguinity or affinity, to any of the parties to the arbitration.  

§ 11-15-5. Arbitrators to appoint time of meeting and notify parties.

The arbitrators selected by agreement of the parties shall appoint a time and place for the hearing, and notify the parties thereof, and shall adjourn the hearing from time to time, as may be necessary, and on the application of either party, and for good cause may postpone the hearing to a time not extending beyond the day fixed in the submission, if a day be fixed, for rendering the award.
    
§ 11-15-7. Notice to parties; form.
    
The notice which the arbitrators shall give to the parties of the time and place of the hearing of the controversy shall be in writing, and may be in the following form, viz:

    "To ________ and ________ and ________ [naming all of the parties]

    "You are notified that the undersigned arbitrators, agreed upon by you to determine the controversy mentioned in your articles of submission, of date the ________ day of ________ A.D. ________ , have fixed upon and will hear and consider your said controversy on the ________ day of ________ A.D. ________ , at ________

                                                          "__________________

                                                          "__________________

                                                          "__________________

                                                                "Arbitrators."
 
Such notice shall be served by delivering to each of the parties a copy thereof at least one whole day before the hearing, and shall be given to the parties by one of the arbitrators, who shall indorse on said notice that he has served the same by giving the party or parties so served a true copy thereof; but, if the parties appear, the want of notice shall not affect the proceedings.

§ 11-15-9. Arbitrators to be sworn.
    
Before proceeding to hear any testimony in relation to the matter, the arbitrators shall be sworn, by some officer authorized to administer an oath, to faithfully and impartially hear and determine the matters submitted to them, according to the evidence and the manifest justice and equity of the case, to the best of their judgment, without favor or affection.
    
§ 11-15-11. Arbitrators' meetings; procedure.
    
All arbitrators must meet together and hear all of the allegations and evidence of the parties pertinent or material to the cause; but the parties may mutually waive, in writing, the appearance of all of the arbitrators named in the articles of submission and consent for those present to proceed, or they may, in like manner, substitute other persons for the absent one. An award made, and every other act done, by a majority of the arbitrators shall be valid, unless the concurrence of all or a certain number of the arbitrators to the award or acts be expressly required in the submission.  
 
§ 11-15-13. Swearing of witnesses.

All witnesses before arbitrators shall be sworn as if before a court, and the parties shall have the benefit of legal process to compel the attendance of witnesses, which may be issued by the clerk of any court or a justice of the peace, and shall require the witness to attend before the arbitrators on a day and at a place certain to be named in the subpoena.  

§ 11-15-15. Service of process.

Process returnable to the arbitrators may be served as provided for in the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedure.  

§ 11-15-17. Contempt.

If any person duly subpoenaed to appear before arbitrators and testify, shall fail to do so, he shall be guilty of contempt of the court from which, or by whose clerk, the process issued, and upon complaint thereto of the party injured, the court or justice may punish the person for such contempt as in other like cases.
    
§ 11-15-19. Award enforcement process.

To entitle an award to be enforced according to the provisions of this chapter, it must be made in writing, and be signed by the arbitrators making the same and who concur therein. The arbitrators shall attach to the award the articles of submission, the notice served on the parties, with indorsements of service, and, if the parties appear, that fact should be noted in the award itself; and they shall give a duplicate of the whole to each of the parties to the controversy, and the duplicates shall each be treated as originals.  
 
§ 11-15-21. Confirmation of award by court.
    
Upon presentation of the articles of submission and the award to the court designated in the submission or the court having jurisdiction of the subject matter of the award, the court shall, upon motion, confirm the award, unless the same be vacated or modified, or a decision thereon be postponed, as hereinafter provided. An award shall not be confirmed unless notice in writing of such motion shall have been served on the adverse party at least five days before the hearing, to be served as other process; but such motion shall not be made after the expiration of one year from the making and publication of the award.  

§ 11-15-23. Vacation of award; grounds.

Any party complaining of an award may move the court to vacate the same upon any of the following grounds:
(a) That such award was procured by corruption, fraud, or undue means;
(b) That there was evident partiality or corruption on the part of the arbitrators, or any one of them;
(c) That the arbitrators were guilty of misconduct in refusing to postpone the hearing upon sufficient cause shown, or in refusing to hear evidence pertinent or material to the controversy, or other misbehavior by which the rights of the party shall have been prejudiced;
(d) That the arbitrators exceeded their powers, or that they so imperfectly executed them that a mutual, final, and definite award on the subject matter was not made.
    
§ 11-15-25. Correction of award.
    
Any party to the submission may also move the court to modify or correct the award in the following cases:
(a) Where there is an evident miscalculation of figures, or an evident mistake in the description of any person, thing, or property referred to in such award;
(b) Where the arbitrators shall have awarded upon some matter not submitted to them, nor affecting the merits of the decision of the matter submitted;
(c) Where the award shall be imperfect in some matter of form, not affecting the merits of the controversy, and when, if it had been a verdict of a jury rendered in such court, the defect could have been amended or disregarded by the court.     

§ 11-15-27. Motion to vacate or modify award; when made.

An application to vacate or modify an award shall be made to the court at the term next after the making and publication of the award, upon at least five days' notice, in writing, being given to the adverse party, if there be time for that purpose; and if there be not time, such court, or the judge thereof, may, upon good cause shown, order a stay of proceedings upon the award, either absolutely or upon such terms as shall appear just, until the next succeeding term of court.  

§ 11-15-29. Application to vacate or modify award; new hearing.
    
On application as provided for in Section 11-15-27, the court may vacate the award in any of the cases specified in Section 11-15-23, and if the time in which the award shall have been required to be made by the articles of submission has not expired, may, in its discretion, direct a new hearing by the arbitrators; and, in the cases specified in Section 11-15-25, the court may modify and correct the award so as to effect the intent thereof, and to promote justice between the parties.  

§ 11-15-31. Judgments; when and how rendered.    

Upon such award being confirmed or modified, the court shall render such judgment therein in favor of the party entitled to the same, as would be rendered in such case in the circuit or chancery court.  

§ 11-15-33. Costs; how taxed and collected.
    
The costs of the proceedings, after an application to the court for its action upon the award, and the fees allowed by law to the arbitrators, where no provision for payment is made thereof in the award, shall be taxed and collected as in other suits.  

§ 11-15-35. Pending suits may be arbitrated.

In all suits or actions in any court, it shall be lawful for the plaintiff and defendant to consent to a rule of court referring all matters in controversy between them in such suit or action to the arbitrament of any person or persons who may be mutually chosen by them; and the award of such arbitrators being made and returned according to the rule of submission of the parties, approved by the court and entered of record, shall have the same effect as the final judgment or decree of the court into which such award may be returned, and execution may issue thereon accordingly; and like proceedings may be had, where applicable, as is provided in other cases.  

§ 11-15-37. Construction of chapter.    

This chapter shall not be construed to take away from the courts of equity their power over awards, nor to make invalid any award good at common law. It shall be liberally construed for the encouragement of the settlement of disputes and the prevention of litigation.