2A:23B-35 Payment of fees, costs.

3. a. A consumer arbitration shall not require a consumer who is a party to the arbitration to pay the fees and costs incurred by an opposing party if the consumer does not prevail in the arbitration, including, but not limited to, the fees and costs of the arbitrator, arbitration organization, attorney, or witnesses.

b. (1) All fees and costs charged to or assessed upon a consumer by an arbitration organization in a consumer arbitration, exclusive of arbitrator fees, shall be waived for an indigent consumer.

(2) Before requesting or obtaining any fee, an arbitration organization shall provide written notice of the right to obtain a waiver of fees in a manner calculated to bring the matter to the attention of a reasonable consumer, including, but not limited to, prominently placing a notice in its first written communication to the consumer and in any invoice, bill, submission form, fee schedule, or rule or code of procedure.

(3) Any consumer requesting a waiver of fees or costs may establish eligibility by making a declaration under oath of the consumer's monthly income and the number of persons living in the consumer's household on a form provided by the arbitration organization and signed by the consumer. An arbitration organization shall not require a consumer to provide any further statement or evidence of indigence.

(4) Any information obtained by an arbitration organization regarding a consumer's identity, financial condition, income, wealth, or fee waiver request shall be kept confidential and may not be disclosed to any adverse party or any nonparty to the arbitration, except an arbitration organization may not keep confidential the number of waiver requests received or granted, or the total amount of fees waived.

c. Nothing in this section shall affect the ability of an arbitration organization to shift fees that would otherwise be charged or assessed upon a consumer party to another party.

d. This section shall only apply to arbitration pursuant to a standardized contract, written by one party, with a provision requiring that disputes arising after the contract's signing shall be submitted to binding arbitration, and the party not writing the contract is a consumer.

L.2019, c.493, s.3.