In 2003 the U.S. picked a fight with the tiny Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda. We're now two rounds in and things are looking a little dicey for America. What's all this about? Online gambling. Who's the Ref? The WTO. When Congress passed a ban...
The publisher compares three common dispute resolution processes negotiation, mediation, and arbitration - in the framework of Crawford and Sobel (1982). Under negotiation, the two parties engage in possibly arbitrarily long face-to-face cheap talk. Under mediation, the parties communicate with a neutral third part party who makes a non-binding recommendation....
This year, property owners have a new option to appeal their property taxes called binding arbitration. The 2005 Texas Legislature added this option to the Texas Property Tax Code TPTC for property owners who appeal at an Appraisal Review Board ARB hearing and have property with a value of $1...
Beginning this year, Texas property owners who are protesting their property taxes and do not achieve a satisfactory reduction on their home's assessed value at the Appraisal Review Board ARB hearing, now have the option to request binding arbitration instead of judicial appeal. Prior to the passage of the binding...
Thousands of Texas homeowners will go through the property tax appeal process this year because the appraisal district incorrectly assessed their home's value. Sometimes getting a satisfactory reduction takes some time, but it is important to utilize the options available until you are offered a fair reduction. When compared to...
This paper investigates whether self-regulation in financial markets leads to greater industry bias and expertise in enforcement. Using hand-collected data on securities arbitration disputes from the National Association of Securities Dealers NASD, the author document that pro-industry arbitrators are selected more often to arbitration panels than pro-investor ones (selection on...
There exists an enormous amount of literature dealing with both arbitration and mediation, and it is obviously not possible to cover all points in a few paragraphs. It is, however, possible to alert businessman and lawyers representing them to the fact that alternative dispute resolution, particularly if it is entered...
When disputes arise between parties to commercial real estate sales or lease transactions and negotiation does not resolve the conflicts, the opposing parties often consider filing civil lawsuits to resolve the disputes. Unfortunately, lawsuits can be expensive and time-consuming, and generally are not effective at preserving working relationships. Parties to...
Binding arbitration clauses in reinsurance agreements are common and generally enforceable. Enforcing such clauses may be problematic, however, when state regulators are liquidating an insurance company. Enforcement depends on the state liquidation statute at issue. This article identifies factors that need to be considered when deciding whether a state liquidator...
Seems like hardly a week goes by without an article or at least a short notice appearing in print about how a foreign investor active in the Czech Republic believes that certain actions on the part of the Czech state constituted improper interference with the investor's investments and how such...
What kinds of information can one expect to find when doing research in alternative dispute resolution? To the extent that ordinary issues of law arise when considering methods of alternative dispute resolution, such as whether an agreement to arbitrate is judicially enforceable or whether communications in the course of mediation...
Mandatory arbitration clauses in insurance policy forms are meeting regulatory antagonism in several states, but opponents have a difficult case to make. With passage of the Federal Arbitration Act and arbitration acts in nearly every state, legislatures and courts widely embrace arbitration, finding it to serve the public interest. ...
In 2001, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in Circuit City Stores, Inc. v. Adams, holding that agreements between employees and most employers to arbitrate Title VII discrimination claims were enforceable. The Supreme Court reasoned that there is no guarantee of a jury trial for federal discrimination claims...
The arbitration award to Karaha Bodas Company KBC, in December 2000, appears to an economist to be excessive. This article addresses the method used by the tribunal to calculate the award for a foreign investment that was 'taken', the possible perverse effects of excessive awards on the behaviour of investors...
International project lending for infrastructure generally involves two sets of contracts, the project agreements and other, the financing documents. This paper will discuss some issues affecting the ability of parties to the project agreements to obtain arbitral awards that can later be enforced against the asserts of the losing party....
In a recent case, the U.S. Supreme Court held that contracts of employment, which waive the rights of employees to pursue litigation in court, and provide for arbitration of all employment disputes, are enforceable under the Federal Arbitration Act FAA for employees in all industries except transportation. Although the Supreme...
During the past decade, banks and other financial institutions have increasingly included arbitration clauses in many of their agreements, including loan agreements, mortgages, retail installment sales agreements and lease agreements. Certainly, there are a number of reasons for this, including the perception that the arbitration forum is a more efficient...
The Highest court has determined that nearly all employment claims can now be arbitrated. Yet, most employers and businesses have not rushed to adopt some form of mandatory arbitration policy. Employers are hesitant to adopt arbitration policies because they just do not understand how arbitration works and how such a...
Bucking a trend toward encouraging arbitration, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit yesterday threw up an obstacle in Ingle v. Circuit City, where an employer was attempting to force a former employee to arbitrate her claims for sex harassment and discrimination.
In difficult economic times, litigation and arbitration tend to increase. Although there is no way to avoid all business disputes, clearly communicating expectations and requirements to franchisees and listening to input from franchisees can help franchisors reduce franchise disputes. This documentation can be used to "refresh memories" and clarify situations...
