Incorporation of Provider Rules
A clause term adopting an arbitration provider's rules as part of the contract.
Incorporation is more consequential than it looks. It imports the provider's fee schedules, gatekeeping structures, and — critically — the provider's discretion over disputed administrative questions. Federal appellate authority has relied on incorporated provider discretion over fee disputes to hold that a court could not order a respondent to pay administrative fees, making the incorporation language itself a live drafting decision.
See also
- Arbitration ClauseThe operative text: scope, provider, rules, allocation of fees, and waivers.
- Fee Non-PaymentA respondent's refusal to pay provider fees, forcing closure of the filed demands.
- American Arbitration Association (AAA)The largest US arbitration provider, and the default forum named in most consumer clauses.
- JAMSA major US provider whose mass arbitration procedures apply only by express agreement.
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