Customer claims (and any counterclaims, cross-claims, or third-party claims applicable thereto) which are in the aggregate under $5,000 (exclusive of requests for punitive damages, interest, and/or costs) may, in the interests of efficiency and economy, be resolved without an oral hearing, and instead decided by a panel of the Arbitration Committee based on the pleadings of the parties and any other relevant information obtained by the Division of Market Regulation at the direction of the panel.

For customer claims in excess of $5,000, the parties will be notified by mail of the arbitration hearing date as soon as the panel chairman has scheduled it. All hearings take place at the CME Center in Chicago.

The panel chairman may allow out-of-town parties and witnesses to participate in the hearing via teleconference call. Requests for such participation by telephone must be discussed beforehand with the Division of Market Regulation.

At the hearing, each party is responsible for presenting all relevant facts in support of his or her claim or defense, including witness testimony and documents not already contained in the document packet provided by the Division of Market Regulation. If a party cannot obtain the voluntary cooperation of a witness he or she intends to present at the hearing, the Division of Market Regulation should be so advised. The arbitration panel chairman has the authority to require any member or member's employee to appear and testify. However, whenever such appearance results from the request of a party, that party shall reimburse all reasonable costs incurred by the witness, unless directed otherwise by the arbitrators.

At the beginning of the hearing, each party is given the opportunity to make an opening statement. The customer then presents relevant evidence in support of his or her claim, after which the respondent gives his or her defense and any counterclaim. Each of the parties is entitled to question the witnesses, to examine the documents introduced at the hearing, and to present rebuttal evidence. Finally, each may sum up in a closing statement