Arbitration Articles

New Arbitration Website Helps Lead Consumers through Process

ArbitrationAnswers.com is a resource that was created to help consumers understand the basics of arbitration, arbitration agreements, and how to file and respond to an arbitration case. It contains a listing of websites with information on legal services, credit and identity theft resources, and arbitration administrators like the American Arbitration Association, the National Arbitration Forum, and JAMS. In addition, it contains information on arbitration rules, forms, and rights. Full Article

Opinion: Arbitration May Benefit Home Buyers and Sellers

David W. Meyer of the Lawrence Journal-World & News tells readers that the arbitration clause in their home contract may be beneficial. Most preprinted offer forms today include an arbitration clause that can speed the resolution of any disputes that may arise in a real estate deal and save both parties lots of money in legal fees. Full Article

U.S. Law School Excels at International Commercial Arbitration Competition

Minnesota-based Hamline University School of Law placed first in the "Willem C. Vis Moot" International Commercial Arbitration Pre-Moot competition in Chicago on March 14-15, 2009. The team will next travel to the related competitions in Hong Kong and Vienna. Full Article

Study: Arbitration is Fair and Cost-Effective For Consumers in Broad Array of Cases

The use of binding arbitration -- required by most major credit card issuers -- is fair to consumers according to one study from the Northwestern University School of Law's Searle Civil Justice Institute. The Searle study evaluated in depth 301 disputes that came before the American Arbitration Association (AAA), and found they were reasonably priced and consumers had a decent shot at prevailing. The Searle center said it also plans to compare jury awards in consumer cases against AAA arbitration outcomes. Full Article

Nigeria Paves Way for Legal Justice System to Institutionalize Arbitration

The Nigerian Bar Association set up an 11-man panel Arbitration Working Group (AWG) chaired by the immediate past President of the association, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), reports AllAfrica.com. The group is expected to set in motion the machinery for institutionalizing the practice of arbitration as a major form of conflict resolution in the country. Full Article

Soon-To-Be Lawyers Learn Arbitration Best Practices

Law students throughout the United States learn arbitration first hand by working towards the National Arbitration Competition. “Each year that I am involved with the competition I have been more impressed by the students’ abilities and skills as advocates,” said Adam Towe, a law student from Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law, who participated in last year’s competition and also serves as the competition’s national student director. The February 12, 2009 National Arbitration Forum press release announced the winner of the 2008-2009 competition – Chapman University School of Law. Full Article

Federal Judge Begins Overseeing Arbitration Cases

The Stamford Advocate in Connecticut reported on the case of Judge Nevas who recently hung up his black judicial robes to begin a new career in arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution. He will seek to resolve disputes without court trials or lengthy litigations. "It's going to be a new challenge," he said last week. "As a judge, I always enjoyed trying to settle a legal dispute short of going to trial." Full Article

Enforcing Class-Action Waivers Leads To New Wave of Agreements

Enforcing arbitration clauses with binding class-action waivers has become a hotly debated field. The dialogue between the consumer products industry and the consuming public, via the court system, has resulted in a “new wave” of consumer products arbitration agreements: agreements that are both optional and incentivizing. Full Article

Arbitrators Side With Elder Citizen Severely Over-Charged By Car Dealership

Kenneth Hammel, 80, responded to a newspaper ad promising to pay him $8,000 for his trade-in, but ended up getting charged over $42,000 for a used Sedona with a retail price of $23,250. Justice was served however when an arbitration board sided with Hammel who wound up victorious in his legal action against the dealership, winning $13,893, plus damages of $41,679 and attorneys fees. And, he gets to keep his car. Full Article

Columnist Discusses Establishing Arbitration for Religious Practitioners

In “Arbitration of Religious Practitioners,” Christian Today columnist M. V. Tronson explains that there is no current avenue for resolving the plethora of disputes involving denominational and other faith religious systems. Tronson notes that the public court system is "expensive, unsuitable and too public" for these types of disputes and the alternative to courts, arbitration, is highly acclaimed by Rev. John Edmonstone who wholeheartedly endorses the concept of an Arbitration of Religious Practitioners. Full Article

Consumer Outcomes, Protections, Claim Reductions, and Fees Are Better in Arbitration

In July 2008, Navigant analyzed and reported on 34,000 California consumer arbitration cases. The cases were the same as those reported on last fall by Public Citizen, but Navigant’s analysis encompassed certain data points omitted by Public Citizen. This new look at the California arbitration data paints a fuller picture of how consumers fare in arbitration, which includes more benefits and protections for consumers than they receive in debt collection lawsuits. Full Article

Tom Hanks Files for Arbitration Twice

In November of 2007 Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson filed for arbitration over construction defects alleging design and construction defects of their 11-acre complex in Sun Valley, Idaho. The couple filed the request for arbitration on Nov. 12 against Storey Construction Inc., the Ketchum, Idaho-based contractor that built the home. In June of 2008 an Idaho judge ruled that the matter had already been decided in a previous arbitration that resulted in an award of $1.85 million in favor of the contractor. According to a Huffington Post article, Hanks’ attorney indicated that an appeal is likely.barred further arbitration claims by Hollywood couple Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson against a construction contractor that built their $10 million Idaho home in 2002. Full Article

More Español in Arbitration

Arbitration allows for fair, flexible and efficient resolution of disputes. The National Arbitration Forum's domain name arbitration program, for instance, allows parties to resolve disputes in an agreed upon language like Korean, German or Spanish. The general arbitration program also allows for Spanish. With the ever-increasing use of arbitration both internationally and domestically, it's no surprise to see a corresponding increase in the use of one of the world's most popular languages, Spanish. Law.com carried a story tracking this trend in March 2007. As arbitration continues to flourish, the settings within which it is used continue to diversify as well. Full Article

William Mitchell Students Develop Skills, Ethics at Arbitration Competition

A William Mitchell College of Law news post dated 11/21/06 highlights not only the success of the law school’s arbitration team, which earned semifinalist honors for the second straight year in national competition, but also the emphasis the William Mitchell team placed on advocacy and professional conduct. This included identifying, and subsequently acting in, their client’s best interests. “As a team, we not only had to present our case, but build the case from the ground up by determining our arbitration strategies and our desired outcome for the client," said second year student Megan Bjerke. As to the professional manner of the William Mitchell team, coach Dawn Van Tassel remarked, “As important as placing well was proceeding through the competition professionally and ethically, rather than a win-at-all-costs approach.” William Mitchell was among 11 elite law schools represented at the 2006 Arbitration Competition national finals, held on the campus of the 2005 national champion, the University of Texas School of Law in Austin. More information about the competition is included in the National Arbitration Forum’s 11/28/06 news release. Full Article

Survey Results Confirm ADR’s Popularity with ABA Members

Survey results of attorneys’ ADR preference and usage have just been published online at the American Bar Association General Practice, Solo and Small Firm Division (GPSolo) website. In late 2005, the GPSolo Division and the National Arbitration Forum collaborated on a survey designed to discover members’ needs and preferences regarding negotiation, mediation, and other forms of ADR. A decided majority (over 85%) of GPSolo respondents believe that their clients' interests are at least sometimes best served by offering ADR solutions. More than one in three ABA GPSolo respondents would value opportunities to learn more about the distinctions and implications of the rules and panels of national ADR providers. And most ABA GPSolo respondents want additional information about ADR, including empirical studies comparing litigation to ADR, effective contract drafting techniques, and education about the laws governing mediation and arbitration. Survey Results

ACR Endorses the Revised Uniform Arbitration Act

The Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR) recently announced its endorsement of the 2000 Revised Uniform Arbitration Act (RUAA). In a June 26 press release, ACR Vice-President and Chair of the RUAA subcommittee Richard D. Fincher said, “The endorsement of the RUAA by ACR is a significant statement reflecting the organization’s commitment to supporting the fairness and integrity of the arbitration process.” Fincher continued, “The RUAA reflects modern practice and addresses many subjects raised through the arbitration process.” The ACR's Legislative and Public Policy Leadership Web page provides links to the endorsement proposal (which includes helpful information about the history and scope of the RUAA) as well as the ACR's press release. The RUAA has been endorsed by the National Arbitration Forum, American Arbitration Association and the National Academy of Arbitrators. It was also approved by the American Bar Association. Full Article

Trend towards Using Arbitration for Resolving Art Disputes

Writing for the Toledo Blade, staff writer Tahree Lane examines arbitration’s role in the restitution claims of families whose artworks were confiscated and seized by the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 1940s. Governments are making arbitration the preferred choice for resolving these kinds of ownership disputes, leading to the creation of several committees and arbitration panels dedicated specifically to Holocaust-era art displacement claims. Full Article

International Arbitrators Celebrated International Arbitration Day

ADR practitioners from around the world traveled to Singapore on February 17 th, 2006 for the 9th International Arbitration Day, sponsored by the Arbitration Committee of the Dispute Resolution Section of the International Bar Association’s Legal Practice Division. The event, titled “Legitimate Procedures or Derailment Tactics,” examined “tools commonly used to derail arbitrations and the judicial attitude toward arbitration.” Full Article

Mediation and Arbitration Save Businesses Money and Time

Businesses are increasingly turning to out-of-court solutions to resolve their disputes, reports Erin Morian of the Business Record. Scott Long, an attorney with Brown, Winick, Graves, Gross, Baskerville and Schoenebaum P.L.C., says, “They want to know what the resolution is quicker and they want to do it as efficiently and economically as possible.” Morian’s interviews with attorneys, mediators and professors reveal that ADR’s growing popularity is not only freeing up court dockets and saving both would-be plaintiffs and defendants time and money, but it is also creating a greater demand for qualified, trained mediators and prompting law schools to establish ADR curriculums. Full Article

More Businesses Turn to Arbitration, As Litigation Costs Increase

Nothing can damage a company like a lawsuit. For employers, litigation spells steep legal bills and sleepless nights. For staff members, drawn-out disputes can be distracting and divisive. And when a lawsuit stems from inflammatory claims, such as sexual harassment, the publicity can ruin a company's reputation. Lawsuit nightmares are becoming a reality for more business owners these days. Employment disputes represent one of the fastest-growing segments of cases in the U.S. court system, according to Samuel Estreicher, a professor of labor and employment law at New York University's School of Law. Meanwhile, legal fees are skyrocketing. It costs $100,000, on average, to defend a case in court, according to some estimates. Full Article