Arbitration
Philosophy
It is always important to
know the viewpoint of the person conducting an arbitration. This allows the
parties to choose a person whom they believe has the best chance of
facilitating a fair resolution of the dispute. It is our hope that by
providing you with this information, you can make a more informed decision
as to who would be best for your case.
Full Arbitration
Sometimes, arbitrated cases are decided upon rank hearsay or other evidence
that may be unreliable. Arbitration Associates believes that the Rules of
Evidence have a legitimate purpose. Therefore, as arbitrators, they will
exclude contested evidence, which would otherwise not meet the admissibility
standards of the Rules of Evidence. The only exception is that we do not
require business records to be “proved up” when it is obvious from the face
of the records that they are legitimate business records and the other party
does not have legitimate grounds to contest the contents of the documents.
Our pre-arbitration conference facilitates the exchange of all relevant
documents and the identity of those documents where there is a substantive
dispute. The admissibility of the documents are then ruled upon prior to the
beginning of the arbitration.
We issue both reasoned and non-reasoned
rulings. A reasoned ruling sets forth the basis of the decision. A
non-reasoned ruling simply states the result of the ruling.
Post Mediation Arbitration
In a situation where two
parties come very close to settlement, but can not bridge the gap of
differences between them, post mediation arbitration may be the best option.
In such a situation a mediator is left with no other choice but to declare
an impasse and send the parties to trial, often the difference between them
is far less than the litigation expenses required to try the case. Post
mediation arbitration gives the parties an opportunity to present their
differences to an arbitrator in an abbreviated format. The arbitrator then
makes a binding decision that resolves the remaining difference between the
parties. This allows the parties to have the benefit of litigating their
differences without risking losing the progress that they made at mediation.
It also provides a final determination without the expense of trial.
Post Mediation Arbitration can take on a number of different forms. These formats include:
- Submitting the evidence to the arbitrator in a “summary” form that includes nothing but the presentation of documents and arguments of counsel;
- Submission of the evidence in a “semi-summary” format where most of the evidence is presented by counsel through argument, but the parties are allowed to present live testimony of the parties plus one witness;
- Argument and Summary presentation of evidence that relates only to the monetary difference between the parties at the end of mediation; or
- Any other format agreed to by the parties.
These formats can include disclosure to the arbitrator of the difference between the parties at the end of mediation or it could include a high/low agreement at mediation where the arbitrator is not informed of the monetary differences between the parties at the conclusion of mediation.
Under Post Mediation Arbitration, the parties agree, as a part of the mediation settlement agreement, that they will submit the matter to Post Mediation Arbitration. The mediator can then report to the court that the matter has been settled and that, as a part of the settlement, the parties have agreed to Post Mediation Arbitration of the remaining differences between them. The court can then abate the case pending an announcement that there has been a Post Mediation Arbitration award.
Since the purpose of Post Mediation
Arbitration is to reduce expenses, they are typically conducted in a 4 hour
period and there is a non-reasoned ruling.
Consumer Arbitration
For consumer matters involving disputes in amounts less than $10,000 we
offer a two hour summary arbitration where small claims court rules apply. A
low flat rate fee is charged.
