Environmental disputes can be effectively handled in an ADR process. The source of the dispute does not matter. Complex Superfund site response cost disputes are routinely addressed now by allocation neutrals. In simple property transfers or major mergers or acquisitions involving numerous properties, the allocation of environmental risks and the interpretation and application of environmental indemnities are often the subject of arbitration. A variety of environmental or …
Industry Expertise
Distribution and Franchise Disputes
By Gerald Saltarelli Manufacturers and other sellers of goods and services reach their markets through a variety of means, including distributor agreements, contracts with sales representatives, and franchise relationships. Disputes between the manufacturer/seller/franchisor, on the one hand, and the distributor/sales representative/franchisee, on the other, are frequently subject to arbitration under the relevant contracts. The stakes in these disputes are high, as they often involve the …
Construction Disputes
For more than a half-century, the domestic construction industry has been a leader in utilizing binding arbitration as a dispute resolution process. A number of factors regularly make arbitration of construction project disputes preferred over litigation. The combination of multiple parties, voluminous documents and correspondence, and layers of regulations and project requirements render a construction dispute difficult and inordinately expensive to prepare and present in court before a …
Insurance Disputes
Although there is a long history of arbitration in commercial insurance disputes in the reinsurance and high excess catastrophic liability contexts, insurance coverage disputes are more often litigated in a traditional courtroom setting. However, the procedural flexibility inherent in arbitration can be used to resolve insurance coverage disputes in an efficient and cost-effective manner. To illustrate, this article begins with an example of one creative arbitration structure developed and …
Oil and Gas Disputes
The oil and gas industry has long been a leader in promoting the resolution of industry disputes through the use of binding arbitration. In the international sphere, the oft-mentioned Abu Dhabi, Qatar, ARAMCO, Aminoil, and Libya cases played a critical role in promoting the acceptance of investor-state arbitration and the applicability of international law to oil & gas industry disputes involving host nations. Today, the vast majority of international …
Health Care Disputes
There is a wide variety of health care industry disputes. The complexity of many health care disputes, the parties’ desire for confidentiality, the ongoing business relationships between and among the parties and the importance of privacy of health care information make arbitration more advantageous than litigation for health care disputes. This article will discuss the nature of the disputes that are commonly brought to arbitration, the issues that characterize these disputes and how they …
Engineering Disputes
Engineering disputes are those dependent on the resolution of issues relating to design, function, operation, failure, and/or compliance with specifications of devices, materials, software, systems, processes, etc. Resolution of these issues requires an understanding of scientific principals and scientific terms, and some comfort with the related mathematics. Also required is an understanding of how scientists and engineers approach …
