(a) If any claim has been rejected by the department or any exception has been filed to the account or to any item thereof, the principal court shall, as soon as expedient after the expiration of the period for the filing of exceptions to the account, fix a date for hearing in court arguments on all rejected claims and all exceptions to the account or to any item thereof. The department shall give notice of such hearing to all corporations or persons whose claims have been rejected by the department or objected to in the manner provided by this chapter. It shall likewise give notice to all corporations or persons who have filed exceptions to the account or to any item thereof. Such notice shall set forth, insofar as possible, the reasons for the rejection of the claim or the nature of the exception to the item of the account and shall state that all parties whose claims are rejected or objected to must appear in the principal court upon the date fixed by the court to prove their claims or they will be bound by the ex parte decision of the court.

(b) The principal court in which the account is filed shall itself hear arguments upon any rejected claim or upon any exception to an account, or to any item thereof, upon the date fixed by it for this purpose. The court shall itself decide, without delay, all matters in controversy. If any party does not appear in court on the day fixed, the court shall conduct the hearing ex parte and shall render its decision upon the merits as they appear after such hearing.