§ 8.01-581.020.Procedural requirements.
Chapter 21. Arbitration and Award · Article 3. Arbitration Fairness Act · Last amended 2026 · Last verified July 16, 2026
Full Text of § 8.01-581.020
Plain-English Summary
Arbitration only works as an alternative to court if the company that insisted on it pays for it. This section targets a known problem: businesses that write arbitration clauses into their contracts, then slow-walk or refuse to pay the fees needed to get the arbitration moving. If a drafting party is supposed to pay fees or costs before arbitration can proceed and does not pay within thirty days of the due date, three consequences follow automatically: material breach of the arbitration agreement, default in the arbitration, and a deemed waiver of the right to compel arbitration at all.
To make that deadline enforceable, providers have their own duty once a consumer files: immediately send a complete invoice to every party, by the same method and on the same day, stating the full amount owed, the due date, and estimated future charges through the end of the case. If the arbitration agreement does not specify a payment window, the invoice is due on receipt.
Once the drafting party defaults, the employee or consumer gets to choose. They can walk away from arbitration entirely and sue in court instead — and if they do, the court must sanction the drafting party — or they can stick with arbitration and make the drafting party pay their reasonable attorney fees and costs for doing so.
The section also protects claims from timing out while any of this plays out. The statute of limitations is tolled from the day a party sends a written demand to arbitrate until ninety days after the arbitration ends. If the case moves back to court after a default, the limitations period for related claims is tolled from the date of the first filing in whatever forum started the process. And if the arbitration agreement itself sets a deadline to demand arbitration, filing a civil action within that window tolls the arbitration deadline too, running until thirty days after a final court ruling on arbitrability or thirty days after the civil action itself wraps up, whichever comes first.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the company that wrote the arbitration clause does not pay the required fees on time?
If the fees or costs are not paid within thirty days after the due date, the drafting party is in material breach of the agreement, in default of the arbitration, and deemed to have waived the right to compel arbitration.
What must an arbitration provider’s invoice include?
It must be provided in its entirety, state the full amount owed and the due date, include estimated future charges through completion of the arbitration, and be sent to all parties by the same method on the same day.
What options does a consumer or employee have if the drafting party defaults on fees?
They can withdraw the claim from arbitration and proceed in a court of appropriate jurisdiction, or compel arbitration and have the drafting party pay reasonable attorney fees and costs related to the arbitration.
What happens if the consumer chooses to sue in court after the drafting party defaults?
The court must impose sanctions on the drafting party.
How does this section protect a claim from expiring while arbitration is pending?
The statute of limitations is tolled from the date a party sends a written demand to arbitrate until ninety days after the arbitration terminates or is completed, with related tolling rules covering claims that move back to court.
Amendment History
2026, c. 490.