File a Complaint

Deadlines are very important in NGFA Arbitration. The NGFA has no discretion to act upon a complaint that is filed too late. A complaint must be filed within:

• 12 months after a claim arises or the expiration date for performance of the contract(s), whichever occurs last
• 30 days of issuance of a court order

Within 15 days from receipt of the original decision, the party or parties to the appeal need to complete the following:

• Provide a notice of appeal to NGFA
• Pay NGFA a non-refundable appeal fee. This fee is only paid by the appellant and is exactly double the original arbitration fee paid in the case
• Payment of the original award to NGFA (this money will be put into an interest-bearing account until the resolution of the case).

Chronological order of an appeal case: 

• NGFA will forward a copy of the appellants statement of reasons to the appellee. The appellee will have 20 days from the date of receipt to file an answer.
• When NGFA receives the appellee’s response, NGFA will assemble a record of the case and will submit to the parties.
• Within 10 days of receipt of the record of the case, the appellant will file a brief of its case with the NGFA Secretary, each argument keyed to facts contained in the record of the case.
• Within 7 days of the appellant’s brief from the NGFA Secretary, the appellee will file its brief. Upon receipt of the appellee’s brief, the NGFA Secretary will send a copy to the appellant.
• Parties will have 5 days for either party to challenge the arbitrators after they are appointed to the case by the NGFA Secretary.

Note:

• 10 copies of each argument must be submitted to NGFA
• A party (or parties) cannot appeal the decision of an Arbitration Appeals Committee

Oral hearings are available in every case and either party may request one. Important note: the introduction of new documents or written evidence at an oral hearing is not permitted.

Deadline to request an oral hearing:

• Non-appeal case: within 10 days after receipt by the plaintiff of the defendant’s surrebuttal
• Appeal case: within 10 days after receipt by the appellant of the appellee’s brief

How to request an oral hearing: 

• A party must make a timely request
• The party requesting an oral hearing must pay the non-refundable fee of $2,500 and advance the estimated amount to cover the additional expenses of the arbitrators and NGFA including, but not limited to, the stenographic record of the case and hotel and travel expenses for the arbitrators, NGFA staff and NGFA’s legal counsel. Failure to advance expenses may be grounds for denying a request for an oral hearing.

Note: After the committee determines and fixes the actual amount of additional expense incurred, the party or parties shall be refunded or billed by the NGFA Secretary for the difference between the amount advanced and actual costs.

Location of an oral hearing:

The chair of the arbitration committee will determine a time and place for the hearing, and the NGFA Secretary shall notify the parties of the date and place selected.

The location selected is typically in a major city with a highly accessible and convenient airport. The arbitrators will likely be traveling from different locations throughout North America and the parties should be prepared to travel by air to participate in the hearing.

Because NGFA Arbitration is intended to be faster and less expensive than court actions, arbitration cases are expected to proceed without the expense and delay of extensive discovery (depositions, interrogatories, production of documents, requests for admissions, etc.). While the rules do not provide for formal discovery, a party can request material or information from another party in its arguments, and the arbitrators can take into consideration the failure of a party to comply with reasonable requests.