Arbitration of business litigation matters is something to consider and here are some thoughts.
- You may have no choice. If there is a binding arbitration provision in the parties’ contract, then the decision has already been made for you.
- If there is not a pre-existing arbitration agreement, the parties can still enter into one at any point during the litigation process.
- Arbitration is much, much faster than court. The final decision is likely to occur in a matter of months, not years.
- Arbitration is final and unappealable. Ultimately, this saves both time and money. The winner wins; the loser loses – and everyone gets back to business.
- There is no jury. If the value of your case, or the exposure needed to move the other side’s needle depends on a scary jury, then you must avoid arbitration.
- Arbitration is confidential. What happens in Vegas….. You get the point. The public will not be able to find the details or outcome of a case on a Pacer or Google search.
- The litigants have more say in the scheduling and procedures of an arbitration matter than they do in a court proceeding. This can often ease the burdens and unpredictability of litigating before a difficult or non-responsive judge.
- Arbitration can be expensive too. Depending on where and how you arbitrate, you may pay very substantial fees to the arbitration provider and/or to the arbitrators themselves. On the other hand, judges are basically free and the court systems’ filing fees are a fraction of those assessed by AAA and other private services.
- There is no one correct answer. Each case should be evaluated to determine whether arbitration is a good place to have your case decided.