There’s a dispute between your association and the league in which you’re contracted to work. It’s unresolvable. Your group is also being sued by one of its own members. That, too, is unresolvable. Is it time to hire a lawyer and go to court? Not necessarily. Have you considered arbitration? Officials associations lack the time and money to engage in litigation. That creates a problem as we clearly live in a litigious society. Associations have not historically placed great emphasis on contractual arbitration, but is arbitration worthy of a serious look because you don’t have to retain counsel and it’s cost effective. Arbitration is quicker and cheaper than going to court. It is also private; the details only become public if the parties want them to.
One other major advantage to arbitration is the ability to get an arbitrator who knows and understands your field. Parties who want an industry expert as an arbitrator should specify that in their arbitration clauses. Of course, officials associations should check to make sure their arbitration tribunal actually has industry experts before requiring their use as arbitrators.
Step 1 — Arbitration is a form of alternative dispute resolution arising from a contract or from an association’s constitution or bylaws. Thus, your association can require arbitration through contracts with client teams, schools and leagues. You can also require your members to arbitrate disputes against the association through your constitution and bylaws.
Step 2 — Arbitration proceedings are conducted by a single arbitrator or a three-arbitrator panel instead of by a judge or a judicial panel. Arbitration proceedings provide for discovery and witnesses. In short, parties get their day in court. They just get it before an arbitrator.
Step 3 — The contract between you and the party with which you’re having the dispute governs the details of arbitration. The agreement should address the means of selecting the arbitrator and whether to use one arbitrator or a three-arbitrator panel. The agreement should also cover discovery and evidentiary rules since a court no longer governs those ground rules.
Step 4 — Officials associations should specify that the arbitrator’s decision is binding, meaning the decision can’t be appealed in court. Binding arbitration saves everyone time and money.
Step 5 — Arbitration is obviously supposed to make life simpler. Many people and businesses don’t want to get bogged down in writing intricate contracts on the myriad details that could arise in an arbitration proceeding. Thus, a substantial number of people and businesses enter into agreements providing that the entire arbitration proceeding will be administered by one of the major arbitration tribunals and governed by the tribunal’s hearing rules. The American Arbitration Association and the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services are the two largest and best-known tribunals.
Loading ...
