A CCA Blog: The Aardvark* It has been a while since you heard from me, but a recent case caught my attention. In Nuvasive, Inc. v. Absolute Medical, LLC, No.22-10214, the 11th Circuit affirmed a district court’s decision to overturn an arbitration award more than three months after the statutory deadline to challenge the award. It turned out that one of the respondents was coaching the witness who was testifying by video conference, by …
Best practices
Select Your Dispute Decision-Maker!
Commercial arbitration offers disputants distinct advantages that are not available in court. The principal one is party autonomy and self-determination. Nothing illustrates that concept better than the disputants’ ability in commercial arbitration to select the person who will hear and decide their dispute. Litigants who resort to the courts for dispute resolution cannot select the judge who will hear the action. Judges are generally randomly selected upon the filing of the …
The Many Good Things About Commercial Arbitration
Recently, the Washington Post published a story that referenced the concept of “negative memories.” The story noted that humans tend to notice the negative more than the positive and are more likely to remember negative experiences versus the positive. This story resonated with me, primarily because I have recently received reports or examples of public criticism of the arbitration process. For example, the Miami Dolphins NFL football team demanded claims by former coach Brian …
Aardvarks Care About the Cost of Business Dispute Resolution!
The CCA Arbitration Aardvark* has noticed quite a bit of discussion on the cost of business dispute resolution and whether arbitration is speedier and less costly than litigation. It certainly can be and often is. It has been reported that business arbitrations take on average 7.3 months from start to resolution while the U.S. District Court cases take an average of 23.4 months – and that’s even before appeals. Generally, the longer a case takes the more expensive it becomes. The parties, in …
Tips on Effective Use of Subpoenas in Arbitration
Earlier in my career both as an advocate and as an arbitrator I did not fully appreciate the differences in compelling testimony and documents from third parties in arbitration as compared to litigation at the courthouse. After serving on an arbitration panel where counsel for one side made some crucial mistakes in seeking subpoenas it became clear to me that understanding this issue was a necessary part of an advocate’s tool kit. My experience has proven that, in arbitration cases, …
The Efficient Arbitrator – In the Post-Pandemic Age
Intro – Arbitration in the Post-Pandemic Era: Much has been said of efficiency in arbitration, including the need to appropriately balance time and cost efficiency with a process ensuring a fair and just result. The COVID-19 pandemic has ushered in the adoption of new technologies in arbitration, along with new protocols and practices, that merit re-examination of efficiency in arbitration. This article addresses what it takes to be an efficient arbitrator in the post-pandemic …
American Bar Association Endorses Commercial Arbitration
As a commercial arbitrator, I am sometimes asked by folks—including many lawyers-- whether there really are any advantages to resolving disputes through arbitration. I hear, “is it really any better than litigating in court?” I then launch into my elevator pitch on why commercial arbitration is more efficient and cost-effective than court litigation. Now, however, I can simply cite to the American Bar Association’s conclusion, after an in-depth study, that commercial arbitration is indeed a …
Root, Hog or Die: Arbitration Adaption in a Pandemic
In our last Blog entry, the Author wrote of the necessity of arbitrators, lawyers, arbitral institutions -- indeed, the entirety of the arbitration profession -- to adapt to the new day that has been brought about by COVID-19 and its impact on every facet of everyday life. His message was straightforward -- as arbitrators and as consumers of arbitration services -- we must adapt to the new reality of online arbitration proceedings or perish. In other words, “Root, hog or …
It Is Not the Strongest of the Species that Survives But the Most Adaptable: The Case For Online Commercial Arbitration
Variations of the quote “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change,” are often attributed to Charles Darwin. Those may have not been Darwin’s exact words but the point stands that survival requires adaptation. That stands true in the world of commercial arbitration as well. For decades, parties, counsel and arbitrators have enjoyed the benefits provided by arbitration, among those: relatively …
Join the Conversation and Leave Your Digital Mark in the Arbitration Field
When I first became a commercial arbitrator, I would have loved to have had easy access to the best arbitrators to learn how they resolved business disputes, in court and in alternative dispute resolution settings. Fast forward to 2020 where we as CCA Fellows are lucky enough to fill that void in an easy-to-share, digital way… Welcome to the CCA Blog – a dialogue about commercial arbitration from the College of Commercial Arbitrators. The CCA, the most prestigious alternative dispute …
