Rule 3 - Court Ordered Non-Binding Arbitration3.1 Court Ordered Non-Binding Arbitration: As provided in G.S. 7A-37.1, the 26th Judicial District has been designated as a site for statewide court-ordered non-binding arbitration. In accordance with the Rules for Court Ordered Arbitration, all general civil actions will be reviewed to determine eligibility for the program. Cases identified as arbitration-eligible will proceed pursuant to Rule 3. Cases determined to be ineligible for arbitration will proceed pursuant to Rule 2.3.2 Rules for Court Ordered Non-Binding Arbitration: The 26th Judicial District, District Court Division, has adopted Rules for Non-binding Court Ordered Arbitration. The requirements of the Arbitration Rules run concurrently with these Civil Rules and are an integral part of the case-management plan for the District. Counsel shall be familiar with the Arbitration Rules and shall follow all requirements set forth therein. All forms, motions and orders or other issues or matters involving non-binding court ordered arbitration shall be directed to the attention of the ADR Coordinator in the Caseflow Management Division.3.3 Trial de Novo: The Caseflow Management Division of the Trial Court Administrator's Office shall monitor all arbitration cases for the filing of trial de novo requests. If a request for a trial de novo is filed, the Caseflow Management District Civil Case Coordinator shall calendar the case for trial on the next available setting. The trial date assigned should be no sooner than 120 days after the filing of the last responsive pleading. The last responsive pleading is considered the answer to the complaint, or the reply to a cross claim, counterclaim or third party complaint. Counsel may request a specific session of court or expedite the hearing date by filing a Request to Set (Form CCF-2) with the Caseflow Management District Civil Case Coordinator in the Caseflow Management Office. All requests must be received prior to the publishing of the trial calendar.3.4 Binding Arbitration Motions: If a case or a claim asserted in a case is subject to binding arbitration, the party seeking to have the binding arbitration shall promptly notify all other parties and the Court by submitting an order to the Chief District Court Judge to exempt the case from the court ordered non-binding arbitration track. The order must first be presented to the ADR Coordinator for processing and subsequent delivery to the Chief District Court Judge for approval. This order shall stipulate a time limit within which the parties will arrange for the binding arbitration to occur. After the binding arbitration has occurred the parties will also then set a motion before the court to confirm the arbitration award, thus closing the case.N.c. R. Prac. Sup. & Dist. Ct. Civ. P. 3
Revised 11/13/2015; effective 1/1/2016.