USA Law and Practice Contributed by: Matthew H. Kirtland, Timothy Tyler, Katie Connolly and Taylor LeMay, Norton Rose Fulbright
13.3 Third-Party Funding The FAA does not provide any rules or restrictions on third-party funders. However, the US Congress is cur - rently considering legislation that would require dis - closure of third-party funders to courts in civil actions, including in actions to enforce arbitral awards or arbi - tration agreements. This legislation would not apply to arbitrations. 13.4 Consolidation The FAA does not provide for joinder of parties or con - solidation of multiple arbitrations. The US Supreme Court holds that parties may specify with whom they choose to arbitrate their disputes, which entails that multi-party and multi-contract arbitration agreements are generally enforceable. Whether joinder or con - solidation is permitted is left to arbitral tribunals to decide unless the parties specify otherwise in their agreement. 13.5 Binding of Third Parties See 5.6 Jurisdiction Over Third Parties .
may not infer consent to class arbitration through state-law interpretation of an ambiguous contract. In recent years, largely in domestic US employment and business-to-consumer contexts, “mass arbitra - tions” have emerged. Dozens, and sometimes thou - sands, of individuals bound by class-action waivers in arbitration agreements assert each of their claims, individually, in arbitration. Often the arbitration agree - ment, the arbitration rules or the applicable law requires the business to pay the lion’s share of arbitra - tion costs. This has resulted in very significant upfront fees for businesses facing these “mass arbitrations”. Some US-based arbitration organisations have refined their fee schedules to mitigate this impact. The area of the law is developing quickly as a matter of US domestic arbitration law. 13.2 Ethical Codes See 7.4 Legal Representatives . Additionally, some institutions provide guidance on the ethical requirements for arbitrators. See, for exam - ple, the American Bar Association Code of Ethics for Arbitrators in Commercial Disputes, and the JAMS Arbitrators Ethics Guidelines.
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