Can a NJ Divorce Arbitrator Grant Pre-Hearing Relief?
The Act provides in Section 8 for provisional remedies and gives to an arbitrator the authority to issue Orders granting provisional remedies and interim awards, as are determined to be “necessary to protect the effectiveness of the Arbitration proceeding and to promote the fair and expeditious resolution of the controversy… Section 18 of the Act provides that, if the arbitrator makes a pre-award ruling, a party may request that the ruling be incorporated into an award, which may be presented in a summary manner to a court for confirmation. It is apparently clear that, when parties enter into arbitration early on, they may obtain the equivalent of pendente lite relief from the arbitrator, which can then be confirmed by a court if necessary.
