Upon the written request of any manufacturer or contractor, the California State Mediation and Conciliation Service shall notify the other party to the dispute of the request for arbitration and shall, within seven days of receipt of the request, appoint an arbitration panel to hear and render a decision regarding the dispute. The panel shall be constituted as follows:
(a) A management level representative from a manufacturer in the general geographic area in which the dispute arises, provided that insofar as possible the manufacturer shall not be a direct competitor of the manufacturer involved in the dispute to be arbitrated. This panel member also shall be selected in accordance with the terms of the written contract.
(b) A representative from the contractors’ association whose membership encompasses the general geographic area in which the dispute arises. This panel member also shall be selected in accordance with the terms of the written contract.
(c) A third party to be chosen and agreed upon by the first two parties to the dispute from a list of arbitrators provided by the American Arbitration Association. This party shall act as chairperson of the panel.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 46, Sec. 99. (SB 1038) Effective June 27, 2012.)