Legal Research

"Arbitration - Your Chance to be Creative!"

Posted by Gavin Craig: "Agreements to arbitrate disputes are either set forth in original agreements between parties, union agreements that bind parties, (from Employerslawyer) or after a dispute arises the parties elect to take their case to arbitration. In my experience it is hard to get litigating parties to agree about anything, so an agreement to arbitrate after the parties are already in litigation is less common.

The Employee Rights Post Blog posted an interesting article about whether a party is bound by an arbitration agreement in a related agreement never seen by one party. The answer was no! Both the Employers Lawyer and the Employee Rights blogs are worth reading.

Arbitration questions and issues cover much more than labor agreements.  But the decisions in the Employer/Employee area are helpful in understanding some of the arbitration issues.   

In my practice I see two major issues relation to arbitration. The first is that many form agreements contain arbitration provisions that neither party knows or cares about when they execute the agreements. The arbitration provision is just there, and the drafter either borrowed it from another contract years ago and never updated it, or the famous, "It's always been in the contract."

Sometimes these agreements create a hardship on one or both parties, or the language forces the parties (if one wants to arbitrate) into a process that is expensive, and ill suited to help resolve the case. One good thing about an arbitration provision is that the parties can mutually agree to ignore it. Nothing forces arbitration to happen, unless one party forces the issue by demanding arbitration or if necessary, bring a motion to compel.

Arbitration has a place in the civil justice system. Many cases are better suited to arbitration before a knowledgeable arbitrator, then litigation before a judge or jury that knows nothing about the area under dispute. Construction is an area where arbitration is common and there are a number of excellent arbitrators in most areas that have the experience to give a thoughtful decision.

When the parties agree that arbitration is a good way to finally resolve disputes, it is time to be creative. Other than the standard language submitting any and all disputes to final and binding arbitration, there are a number of issues that should be considered. For example:

1.  How many arbitrators...

2.  Place of arbitration...

3.  Who will be the arbitrator...

4.  Time for arbitration...

5.  Limitations on authority of the arbitrator...

6.  Do you want the arbitrator to have the power to order discovery? This is usually a cost issue.

When parties are going to draft an arbitration provision, they need to think through what they are trying to do. An arbitrator only has the power granted in the arbitration agreement. If you don't limit the arbitrators power, it is pretty much unlimited - absent as showing of fraud. So draft carefully."

Hat tip to Colin O'Keefe of Real Lawyers Have Blog, 17 April 2009

Full text and active links are available at the source site listed below.

Source: Twin Cities Business Litigation Blog, 17 April 2009

Full post as published by Stark County Law Library Blawg on April 22, 2009 (boomark / email).