Boxoffice (Apr-Jun 1939)

Arbitration Proposal Text (Continued xrom page 20) tration shlal be held or wherein the award shall be filed to make the same binding and effective. VII. — Term of Office of Arbitrators, Removals and Vacancies (1) Term of Office. The members of each panel or arbitrators shall serve for six months. (2) Removals. Arbitrators in the panel appointed by distributors and affiliated exhibitors may be removed at any time by a majority of the distributors and a majority of the affiliated exhibitors who are at the time entitled to participate in the appointment of arbitrators to such panel. Arbitrators in a panel appointed by an organized exhibitor group or groups may be removed at any time by the action of the exhibitor group or groups who are at the time entitled to participate in the appointment of arbitrators to such panel. (3) Vacancies. Vacancies in any panel of arbitrators occurring by reason of death, resignation, removal or disqualification shall be filled in the manner hereinabove provided for the original appointment of arbitrators to such panel. Any arbitrator so appointed shall serve for the balance of the term of his predecessor in office. VIII. — Jurisdiction of Boards No Permanent Arbitration Board shall hear, and no Special Arbitration Board shall be constituted to hear, a dispute unless and until each of the parties thereto shall have become a party signatory to the Trade Practice Code, shall have otherwise complied with Article XVII thereof, and shall have signed the agreement of arbitration annexed hereto and made a part hereof. The secretary of each Permanent Arbitration Board shall keep a list of the names and addresses of the distributors and exhibitors in his exchange territory who have agreed to arbitrate disputes as above provided, which list shall be available for inspection during ordinary business hours by any interested party. Each dispute which is subject to arbitration under the Trade Practice Code may be submitted to and determined by the Permanent Arbitration Board of the exchange territory in which it arises and shall be so submitted and determined unless one or more of the parties to such dispute shall request that such dispute be submitted to a Special Arbitration Board, in which case the dispute shall be submitted to and determined by a Special Arbitration Board. It is intended that any party to a dispute shall feel free to have such dispute submitted to a Special Arbitration Board. Until a Permanent Arbitration Board is established in an exchange territory all disputes which are subject to arbitration under the Trade Practice Code shall be submitted to Special Arbitration Boards. An arbitration board shall have only the powers conferred upon arbitrators by the Trade Practice Code and thes:* Rules of Arbitration and every award shall conform thereto. I \ . — Arbitration Proceedings (1) Statement of Claim. To initiate an arbitration hereunder the complaining party shall deliver personally or mail to the secretary of the Permanent Arbitrat on Board a statement of claim and a copy or copies thereof, which shall set forth in non-technical language the following: (a) The name and address of the complaining party, the name of the tlieatre(s) involved in the dispute and the name of the party or parties claimed against, and, in case of a dispute relating to over-buying, the names of the distributors entitled to notice as hereinabove provided. (b) A brief statement of the claim (including, if a license agreement is involved, the date of the same and the names of the parties thereto) and of the relief sought. (c) A demand for arbitration and, if the complaining party does not desire that the dispute be submitted to the Permanent Arbitration Board, a request that the dispute be submitted to a Special Arbitration Board. (d) The designation of an arbitrator who shall serve in the event that either the complaining party in such statement, or the party (or, in a case of a dispute relating to clearance, any party) complained against, requests the submission of the dispute to a Special Arbitration Board. The statement of claim must be accompanied by a filing fee of $5.00. (2) Notice of Claim. The secretary shall promptly deliver personally or post by registered mail a copy of such statement of claim to the party (or. in case of a dispute relating to clearance, to each party) complained against. Such party (or. in case of a dispute relating to clearance, each such party entitled to designate an arbitrator) shall, within seven days after the delivery or mailing of such copy, deliver personally or post by registered mail to the secretary an acknowledgement in writing of receipt thereof and shall also at the same time designate in writing an arbitrator who shall serve in the event that either the complaining party shall in his statement of claim, or any party complained against shall in its designation, request that the dispute be submitted to a Special Arbitration Board. (3) Notification of Arbitrators. If any party to a dispute shall have requested that the dispute be submitted to a Special Arbitration Board, the secretary shall forthwith upon the receipt of the designations of arbitrators notify the arbitrators designated by the parties of their designation. In the event that any party shall not have designated an arbitrator when required to do so as hereinabove provided, the then chairman of the Permanent Arbitration Board shall designate an arbitrator for such party from one of the panels of arbitrators. If no party to a dispute shall have requested that the dispute be submitted to a Special Arbitration Board, the secretary shall promptly so notify the chairman of the Permanent Arbitration Board presiding at the time the complaint is filed and the Permanent Arbitration Board as constituted at such time of filing shall hear and determine the dispute. (4) Disqualification of Arbitrator. No arbitrator shall act in any dispute in which he has, either directly or indirectly, a personal or financial interest unless such disqualification shall have been waived by all the parties; provided that in any dispute relating to clearance submitted to a Special Arbitration Board the arbitrator designated by the distributors shall not be disqualified because of his personal or financial interest in any distributor other than a distributor affiliated with an exhibitor which is a party to the dispute. (5) Hearing and Notice. The chairman of the arbitration board to which a. dispute is submitted shall arrange for a prompt hearing thereof and give reasonable notice to the other arbitrators and to the parties of the time and place of the hearing and of the personnel of the arbitration board. In the case of any dispute relating to over-buying the chairman shall also give similar notice to all distributors who then have license agreements with the party complained against. Hearings shall be held in the city named in Article I hereof in which are located the exchanges from which the complaining exhibitor is served or. if the complaint is filed by a distributor, in the city named in Article I hereof in which are located the exchanges from which the exhibitor complained against is served. Parties may represent themselves or be represented by others at all hearings and shall have the right to examine or cross-examine all witnesses. Witnesses shall testify under oath. Any arbitration board may require any party to a dispute heard by it to produce at the hearing any records or documents deemed by it to be material and relevant. Each arbitration board shall be the judge of the relevancy and materiality of the testimony or evidence offered, but the legal rules of evidence shall not be applied and the board may inquire into the good faith of any claim or defense offered. Stenographic records of hearings will not be made unless one or more parties shall request the same and provide funds therefor, in which case the stenographer shall be designated or approved by the arbitration board. ( G) Waiver of Oral Hearing. The parties to a dispute (including all parties entitled to notice of hearing thereof) may by agreement in writing, filed with the secretary, waive oral hearings. In such case the complaining party shall file with the secretary a statement under oath of his claim supported by material and relevant evidence (which may include excerpts or statements from books of account or other records and documents) and by written argument, together with copies thereof for each party complained against. Immediately upon the filing thereof a copy shall be delivered personally or posted by registered mail by the secretary to each party complained against, each of whom, if he desires to make answer, shall within seven days after receipt of his copy file a statement under oath of his defense, supported in like manner, together with copies thereof for each other party to the dispute. Immediately upon the filing thereof a copy shall be delivered personally or posted by registered mail by the secretary to each other party to the dispute. If any party complained against makes answer as hereinabove provided, each other party to the dispute may within five days after receipt by him of a copy thereof file with the secretary a reply statement under oath supported in the manner above described, together with copies thereof which shall be transmitted by the secretary to the other parties to the dispute in the manner above provided. At the expiration of said five-day period, or, if no answer has been made, at the expiration of said seven-day period, the record shall be submitted by the secretary to the appropriate arbitration board. X. — Awards An award in favor of the complaining party shall contain a statement of the claim or claims determined in favor of such party and the procedure, if any be required, to be followed in carry Government Details on Coercion Charges New York — The department of justice has filed a bill of particulars in the federal court, in which Article 8 of the demand for the bill on the part of the majors is answered in accordance with Judge William Bondy’s decision. The government states the bill is not complete, and will add cases from time to time, as they come to its attention. Article 8 is the charge that numerous independent exhibitors were forced or coerced into selling their theatres, or otherwise disposing of them by the majors. The bill lists 55 situations and 93 theatres. It is also claimed Paramount was guilty of most of the offenses, listing 43 for that company. RKO had three, 20th Century-Fox had six, and Warner Bros, three. Loew’s is not listed. A government spokesman stated in this regard the reason probably is the individual defendants had requested that their names not be divulged until 20 days before trial. The types of offense are “forced selling” 23; “Forcing to sell their lease,” six; “refusal of a license, two; forcing to cancel construction of a theatre, one; depriving of product, 10; threats to build in opposition, seven; threats to acquire opposition theatres, four; and excessive film rentals, two.” Files Particulars on Demand by Columbia New York — The government Friday filed a bill of particulars in answer to Columbia’s demand. The bill charges the defendant indulged in coercive selling, had knowledge of overbuying, countenanced unreasonable clearances, encouraged double features and demanded percentages. ing out the award. An award adverse to the complaining party shall dismiss the claim for lack of merit. Each award of a Special Arbitration Board shall include an assessment of costs of the arbitration. XI. — Bocal Rules and Regulations Each Permanent Arbitration Board may establish such rules and regulations, not inconsistent with these Rules of Arbitration or the Trade Practice Code, as such board may deem necessary or proper to facilitate the arbitration of disputes. Such rules and regulations shall not, however, enlarge the powers of, or confer additional powers upon, any arbitration board. Each Permanent Arbitration Board shall also establish a special class of disputes which are of a type which require prompt and immediate decision and the Permanent Arbitration Board and Special Arbitration Boards hearing disputes of such special class shall give preference in the hearing and expedite the decision thereof. XII. — Cost of Arbitration No Permanent Arbitration Board shall assess costs in any arbitration heard by it. In each arbitration heard by a Special Arbitration Board, such board shall assess as costs against one or more of the parties, in such proportion as it may deem just and proper and without regard to which party shall have invoked the Special Arbitration Board, only the fees of the neutral arbitrator or arbitrators. Filing fees shall be applied toward the payment of expenses of arbitrations hereunder in the exchange territory where collected. To the extent that the moneys received are insufficient for such purpose, the distributors, the affiliated exhibitors and the organized exhibitor groups who are entitled to participate in the appointment of the panel of neutral arbitrators for such exchange territory shall provide funds for the payment of the same. If said distributors, affiliated exhibitors and organized exhibitor groups are unable to agree upon a fair apportionment of such expenses, such apportionment shall be made by a Special Arbitration Board constituted for that purpose, in which case said distributors and affiliated exhibitors shall be deemed to be one party and said organized exhibitor groups shall be deemed to be the other party. 22-D BOXOFFICE May 27, 1939