ADR = ALTERNATIVE DISCOVERY RESOLUTION – REVISITED
On a dark and stormy morning in Lenox Massachusetts, the attendees at the New York State Bar Association's spring meeting of the Commercial and Federal Litigation Section were greeted by an all-star panel discussing "Alternative Discovery Resolution." Though the panel's topic spoke to resolving "normal" discovery problems, i...
THE RULES OF THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION – AN OVERVIEW OF CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE LAST DECADE, PART 2
Last month I wrote of changes to the Commercial Division rules over approximately the past eight years. I will now continue with amendments and additions to the rules from the end of 2015 to present. Effective December 1, 2015 an amendment to Rule 11-d, and a new section 11-f were added. Rule 11-d, Limitations on Disco...
THE RULES OF THE COMMERCIAL DIVISION – AN OVERVIEW OF CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE LAST DECADE, PART 1
The Rules of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court were first formally created as of January 17, 2006. The earliest amendments enacted in 2007, 2009 and 2010 concerned the monetary threshold amounts. In July 2010, a change was made to Rule 1, specifically Rule 1 (b) requiring a lawyer's familiarity with its clients te...
Construction Defect Claims: A Mediator's Perspective
Most trial lawyers and insurance company adjusters are "old pros" when it comes to mediating a personal injury case. But, if old dogs can learn something new, then re-thinking the mediation of personal injury cases may prove helpful. Let's assume the following fact pattern: A worker was injured in a fall while descendi...
WHEN DRAFTING AN ARBITRATION CLAUSE, SPECIFICITY MATTERS
The purpose of placing an arbitration clause in a contract is to streamline the resolution of any disputes under the agreement. Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) avoids the time, cost and uncertainty of litigating in court when a dispute arises. In drafting an arbitration clause, the goal is make the clause itself clear a...
MEDIATION AND ARBITRATION: ALTERNATIVES TO MATRIMONIAL LITIGATION
A commentator on alternative dispute resolution wrote 31 years ago that although matrimonial matters are a specialized area of law, "[p]arties most often wait up to two or three years to litigate a complex divorce involving property division or financial support among other issues." Another analyst wrote, 40 years ago: ...
NUTS AND BOLTS OF A SUCCESSFUL ARBITRATION
I have had the privilege of being a trial attorney for thirty-five (35) years. Without a doubt, during those years, I have tried and arbitrated hundreds of cases having been involved in both. It is clear to me that arbitration is the better method for an expeditious and cost-effective conclusion to a lawsuit. This article wi...
TITLE IX COMPLAINTS – RESOLVING THEM WITH ADR
By: Honorable Elizabeth Bonina June, 2016 There have been many serious allegations concerning gender-based discrimination, particularly sexual assault and other serious matters, on college campuses this year throughout the country. Whether it was the recent incidents involving the allegations of cover-ups of sexual assault charges against members of the Baylor football team, the expelling of […]
OPENING STATEMENTS IN MEDIATION – DON'T PASS UP THE OPPORTUNITY
Richard P. Byrne, Esq. will speak at the annual CPCU (Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters) Atlanta I-Day, 2016 conference entitled Coverage! Whats in Your Policy!? The all-day conference will be held on Friday, August 19, 2016 between 7 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, Buckhead, 3434 Peachtree Road, NE, Atlanta Georgia.
CHALLENGES OF THE “PARTY” ARBITRATION IN THE COMMERCIAL SETTING
In any commercial case, the goal of the arbitration is a swift and expeditious resolution of the litigation with a savings of time and money. At a minimum, while not always as swift as we would like, one would hope that it will afford a faster and more efficient process than that provided by the court system. Typically, t...