§ 50-50.1. Consolidation. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 50‑50.1. Consolidation.

(a)        Except as otherwiseprovided in subsection (c) of this section, upon motion of a party to anagreement or arbitration proceeding, the court may order consolidation ofseparate arbitration proceedings as to all or some of the claims if all of thefollowing apply:

(1)        There are separateagreements to arbitrate or separate arbitration proceedings between the sameparties or one of them is a party to a separate agreement to arbitrate or aseparate arbitration with a third party.

(2)        The claims subjectto the agreements to arbitrate arise in substantial part from the sametransaction or series of related transactions.

(3)        The existence of acommon issue of law or fact creates the possibility of conflicting decisions inthe separate arbitration proceedings.

(4)        Prejudice resultingfrom a failure to consolidate is not outweighed by the risk of undue delay orprejudice to the rights of or hardship to parties opposing consolidation.

(b)        The court may orderconsolidation of separate arbitration proceedings as to some claims and allowother claims to be resolved in separate arbitration proceedings.

(c)        The court shall notorder consolidation of the claims of a party to an agreement to arbitrate ifthe agreement prohibits consolidation. (2005‑187, s. 9.)