appeal

As many in-house counsel are painfully aware, litigating a dispute in court is generally time-consuming and expensive.  Further, given a losing party’s right to appeal an adverse verdict, and with all due respect to Yogi Berra, litigation ain’t even over when it’s over.  As a result, some companies choose to include arbitration clauses in their agreements, believing that this will greatly reduce the amount of time and expense their company will have to incur if a significant dispute arises that cannot be resolved.

While it usually is quicker and less expensive to arbitrate a dispute rather than to litigate in court, that is not always the case.  For example, while it only would cost $375 to file a $5 million claim for breach of contract in the Federal District Court, the fees for commencing commercial arbitration before the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) are $14,600 – even if the case is extremely simple. (Fees under the AAA Commercial Rules are tied exclusively to the amount of damages being claimed.)… Keep reading