[§514B-163]  Trial de novo and appeal.  (a)  The submission of any dispute to an
arbitration under section 514B-162 shall in no way limit or abridge the right
of any party to a trial de novo.



(b) 
Written demand for a trial de novo by any party desiring a trial de novo shall
be made upon the other parties within ten days after service of the arbitration
award upon all parties and the trial de novo shall be filed in circuit court
within thirty days of the written demand.  Failure to meet these deadlines shall
preclude a party from demanding a trial de novo.



(c)  The
award of arbitration shall not be made known to the trier of fact at a trial de
novo.



(d)  In any
trial de novo demanded under this section, if the party demanding a trial de
novo does not prevail at trial, the party demanding the trial de novo shall be
charged with all reasonable costs, expenses, and attorneys' fees of the trial. 
When there is more than one party on one or both sides of an action, or more
than one issue in dispute, the court shall allocate its award of costs,
expenses, and attorneys' fees among the prevailing parties and tax such fees
against those nonprevailing parties who demanded a trial de novo in accordance
with the principles of equity. [L 2004, c 164, pt of
§2]