Rule 13.260 Procedure at Trial De Novo

If you or the other side asks for a new trial after arbitration, the court keeps the original arbitration decision sealed up and hidden away. The judge and jury handling your new trial will not be told what the arbitrator decided. This keeps them from being influenced by that earlier outcome.

The sealed decision stays locked away during the entire new trial. It only gets opened after the jury reaches a verdict, or after the judge makes a ruling if there is no jury. This way, whoever decides your case bases their decision only on the evidence and arguments presented in the new trial, not on what happened before.