Filing of award

(a) Within 7 days after the conclusion of the arbitration hearing, or 30 days after the receipt of the final authorized memoranda of counsel, the arbitrator shall file the award with the clerk of the court, and also serve copies of the award on the attorneys of record and on any unrepresented parties. Application must be made by the arbitrator to the commissioner or the arbitration judge for an extension of these time periods. (b) Applications for attorney fees, costs, and/or interest pursuant to any statute or rule must be submitted to the arbitrator only after the arbitration award is filed. Any application must be filed and served on the other parties within 7 days after service of the award on the applicant; failure to make timely application shall act as a jurisdictional waiver of any right to fees, costs, or interest. Responses to such applications must be submitted to the arbitrator and served on the other parties within 7 days after service of the application on the responding party. Rulings on applications under this subsection must be filed with the clerk of the court by the arbitrator and served on all parties within 7 days after the deadline for responses to such applications. (1) Applications for relief under this subsection do not toll the time periods specified in NAR 18 or NAR 19 . (2) Decisions on applications for relief under this rule do not constitute amended awards and shall not be designated as such by the arbitrator. (3) Any grant of fees, costs, and/or interest shall be included in any judgment on the arbitration award submitted by a prevailing party pursuant to NAR 19 . (c) No amended award shall be filed by the arbitrator, but for good cause the arbitrator may submit a request to the commissioner or the arbitration judge and serve on the parties a request to amend the award, as long as such request is filed within 21 days from the date of service of the original award. (1) If the commissioner decides an amended award is warranted, the commissioner will issue, file, and serve such amended award. (2) Upon the issuance of an amended arbitration award, the time for requesting a trial de novo pursuant to NAR 18 or notifying a prevailing party to enter judgment pursuant to NAR 19 will begin anew upon service on the parties. Any request for a trial de novo filed before an amended arbitration award is issued shall be rendered ineffective by the amended award. (d) This rule does not authorize the use of an amended award to change the arbitrator’s decision on the merits. (e) Failure of the arbitrator to timely file the award or timely rule on an application for fees, costs, and/or interest may subject the arbitrator to a forfeiture (waiver) of part or all of the arbitrator’s fees. Repeated failure shall lead to the arbitrator’s removal from the panel. [Added; effective July 1, 1992; amended; effective January 1, 2023.]