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Frequently Asked Questions
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Q: What Laws & Rules do you use? | Laws vary from one country to another, from one state to another, and even between counties and towns within the same state or country. Every time a dispute crosses one of those boundaries (called "jurisdictions" in legal language), the issue of which laws to use becomes a problem and often times it becomes a trial within a trial. Even when the contract specifies the "choice of law", clever lawyers find a way to make it an issue either to create extra burden for the other party or so that local laws, more favorable to their client, can provide the technicality they need to win.
Choice of law also presents an obstacle for arbitration service providers. In order to receive referrals from local court systems, they must provide arbitrators with knowledge of local laws. What that means is that the arbitration service must remain small and localized, or in the case of the American Arbitration Association, a large U.S. firm, they need to employ hundreds of lawyers across every city they wish to serve, thereby driving up the cost of arbitration to a point where it exceeds the financial reach of most individuals and small businesses. In order to serve the whole world, the cost would be astronomical.
One reason net-ARB was formed was to break those jurisdictional and economic barriers. We did that by adopting a universal set of rules or criteria for deciding cases.
Arbitrators at net-ARB decide cases based solely on what they believe is fair. After all, isn't that what lawmakers attempt to do when they write laws?
net-ARB's Arbitrator Guidelines:- Determine a fair and reasonable outcome based on the evidence presented and application of the following:
- General principles of equity and common law
- Common sense analysis of circumstances and context
- Personal experience & expertise
- Arbitrators must immediately request re-assignment for any of the following reasons:
- Conflicts of interest, no matter how slight
- Presence of bias, no matter how slight
- Loss of neutrality at any stage of the hearing
net-ARB's prime directive is "do equity." Equity courts have been around for literally thousands of years (arbitration dates back over 5000 years!) and have the power to "do equity" even when a legal technicality might require the opposite result. A recent unanimous decision from the »California Supreme Court re-affirmed an arbitrator's power to do equity in exactly that kind of situation. Click the link to pull up the news story from our website.
net-ARB arbitrators apply what is known as "common law", a set of principles handed down over centuries that have served as the basis of statutory law. For example, in order to have a valid contract, there must be a benefit ("consideration") to both parties. The price must be stated, etc.
net-ARB arbitrators also apply their own common sense and life experience to a given situation, which is why net-ARB only uses mature arbitrators and tries to assign arbitrators with a particular expertise in cases where that expertise is needed in order to fully comprehend the facts. Ultimately, the goal of every net-ARB arbitrator is to come up with a fair and equitable solution that fits the facts of your case, rather than some contrived decision that rests on some technicality of a particular local statute.
By adopting these standards, net-ARB becomes the first and only truly worldwide arbitration service provider.
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Q: Is a net-ARB decision binding? | "Binding" arbitration is like a decision from your local court — only better! Why is it better? Because it cannot be appealed. Local court decisions can always be appealed, meaning many months and sometimes years of continued, expensive litigation. In fact, in many jurisdictions losers in small claims court can get a brand new trial in a higher court just by asking for one!
Lacking any prior agreement between the parties, net-ARB's decisions are binding. If you and the other party wish to make an agreement however, that the decision should not be binding on both of you, simply tell your arbitrator before the end of your hearing and we can make the decision non-binding or semi-binding, whichever you prefer.
A non-binding decision is one that neither party must adhere to. Non-binding arbitration is sometimes used as part of the negotiation process, sort of an advisory opinion.
Semi-binding arbitration means that only one side is bound by the decision and the other party is still free to continue the dispute process if they desire. An example of semi-binding arbitration is how the Lemon Law for automobile sales is applied. In Lemon Law arbitration, only the manufacturer is bound. If the consumer wins, the manufacturer must follow the arbitrator's decision. However if the manufacturer wins, the consumer is still able to continue the dispute process. Usually, that means litigation.
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Q: How do I enforce the decision? | Courts routinely enforce arbitration decisions in much the same manner that they enforce their own decisions, called judgments. When the losing party does not pay the amount or perform the action directed by a judgment within a reasonable amount of time (typically 30 days), the winning party returns to court and requests a fi fa (short for fieri facias), a judicial writ ordering the sheriff to satisfy the judgment from the debtor's property. This can take the form of seizure of bank accounts, property, or garnishment of wages.
In the case of an arbitration award, there is one intermediate step. The judge must turn the award into a judgment and then issue the fi fa on the judgment. Because the courts favor arbitration as a means to settle disputes without tying up the courts, this intermediate step is usually a routine matter.
Before you go to court, you will need a certified copy of the arbitration agreement and the award. You can obtain certified copies by writing to » net-ARB Support anytime after your case has been decided. There is a $20 processing fee for this service.
Several international conventions for Enforcement of Arbitral Awards, most notably The United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards show overwhelming support for arbitration and enforcement of arbitration awards in »142 countries worldwide.
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Q: Which party should file the case? | When it comes to a lawsuit, a lot rides on which party files the suit. Rules, procedures, and deadlines differ depending on who wins the race to the courthouse steps. Perhaps the biggest difference is in the burden of proof. In a lawsuit, the plaintiff (filing party) always carries the burden of proof, meaning that unless the plaintiff can present a stronger case than the defendant, the defendant wins.
With arbitration, it does not matter which party files the case. Filing is a mere formality, a registration process. Arbitration treats both parties exactly the same and neither party carries any extra burden of proof.
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Q: Should I sign a Confidentiality Agreement? | "The other party wants me to sign a confidentiality agreement covering the arbitration. What should I do?"
Arbitration is normally confidential in two ways. Number one, there is no public record of the case as would be if the matter went to court, even small claims court in many places. And number two, the arbitrator's records are protected from disclosure. The parties however, are free afterward to say anything they please.
A confidentiality agreement is a private agreement between the parties promising not to reveal the arbitration decision. net-ARB respects the parties' right to contract as they see fit. You should seek the advice of an attorney before signing any agreement/contract.
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Q: Can we use net-ARB instead of the American Arbitration Association?
Q: Can we use net-ARB instead of the National Arbitration Forum? | Many contracts with arbitration clauses state that if a dispute arises, it will be settled in arbitration according to the rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA) or the National Arbitration Forum (NAF). How this came to be is that until net-ARB, the American Arbitration Association and the National Arbitration Forum were the only service providers with nearly nationwide coverage in the U.S.
net-ARB has surpassed both the American Arbitration Association and the National Arbitration Forum in coverage. net-ARB not only serves every city, town and small village in the 50 States, we are also available to »142 nations around the world. While net-ARB was not set up to handle extremely complex cases where arbitration lasts months with a team of lawyers arguing for each side, we do offer a more reasonable alternative to either the American Arbitration Association or the National Arbitration Forum for 99% of the cases that could be arbitrated through either of these companies, especially all those cases that cannot afford to pay the high fees those companies charge.
Anyone with a contract that states the dispute must be arbitrated according to the rules of the American Arbitration Association or by the National Arbitration Forum can agree to use net-ARB instead. All that is needed is for both parties to agree to the change. Parties can agree by simply filing the case with net-ARB and both parties accepting the Arbitration Agreement. A separate written agreement to change arbitration rules is not necessary.
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Q: Why are your fees so reasonable compared to traditional arbitration? | net-ARB was built around economy of scale. Simply put, when you sell less you have to make more profit per sale than when you sell in volume. The same is true of those, like arbitrators, who provide a service. If you are given only a few hours of work per week, you have to charge a lot per hour in order to make a living. On the other hand, if you are given double or triple the number hours per week, you can halve your hourly fee and still earn the same amount or more.
While most successful arbitrators work only a few hours per week, net-ARB's arbitrators stay busy and happily accept a lower fee in exchange. We pass that savings along to you.
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Q: Who are your arbitrators? | net-ARB hires only experienced, professional arbitrators who are as excited as we are about transporting their skills to the internet and making arbitration convenient and affordable worldwide. While many of our arbitrators are lawyers, net-ARB also employs many non-lawyer arbitrators with expertise in many fields so that we can assign highly competent people to the wide variety of cases that we get. One area where net-ARB concentrates heavily is engineering, particularly software engineering, web design, and web-based applications.
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Q: Can I become a net-ARB arbitrator? | net-ARB is always looking for qualified people to add to our roster. Here are some of the qualities net-ARB values when screening candidates:- Experience in non-legal areas such as engineering, mechanics, real estate, construction, etc.
- International and cultural diversity
- Arbitration training & experience
- Clear and concise writing skills
- Careful attention to detail
If you would like to apply for consideration, download a » Candidate Questionnaire.
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Q: Why can't I choose the Arbitrator? | The diversity of net-ARB's professional arbitrator roster is unparalleled. On it you will find arbitrators from 5 of the world's 7 continents (if you are an arbitrator from Africa or Antarctica and would like to work for net-ARB, please contact us) and with backgrounds in law, engineering, the medical profession, accounting, business, and sales to name just a few of the most needed areas. It would add days if not weeks to each arbitration if we left it to the parties to agree on which arbitrator(s) to use.
Instead, net-ARB staff hand-selects the most suitable arbitrators for each case based on the information provided during the registration process. Cases are then offered to the selected arbitrator(s), who either accept or reject each case based on (a) whether or not the case is a good fit for their area of expertise, and (b) their assurance that they can decide the case fairly, absent any bias or conflict of interest.
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Q: Why can't I call and speak with anyone from net-ARB? | Under the watchful eye of » Conflict Resolution Academy, one of America's leading providers of conflict resolution resources, net-ARB maintains very strict safeguards in order to prevent even the slightest perception of non-neutrality or bias. For this reason, we are not permitted to speak with an arbitration party or potential party unless the other party is present, which would not be the case if we took telephone calls from just one party. For everyone's benefit, all of our communication with you must be in writing.
If you have any questions at all about net-ARB or arbitration in general, please email us at » support@net-ARB.com and we will be happy to reply.
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Q: Since you are an American company, do you favor Americans? | Absolutely not! Although we are based in America, net-ARB is as multi-cultural as the internet itself and has been resolving disputes internationally since our inception, more than three years ago. net-ARB's roster includes professional arbitrators from 5 of the world's 7 continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. If you are an arbitrator from Africa or Antarctica and would like to join our roster, we would love to hear from you.
net-ARB maintains strict standards and professional oversight by » Conflict Resolution Academy, one of America's leading providers of conflict resolution resources, to provide high-quality, completely neutral dispute resolution service void of racial, national, gender, religious, or cultural bias.
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Q: We settled our dispute after we paid for arbitration. Can we get our money back? | It is not uncommon for disputing parties to settle their dispute privately "on the courthouse steps." Sometimes simply showing each other that you are serious about seeking a solution is enough to re-open communication and a compromise is reached.
Just like the court system, we cannot refund your case registration fee. But we will, upon request, assign an arbitrator to help you get the terms of your settlement down on paper and to iron out any small issues that may still need to be addressed. Just let your arbitrator know that you would like his or her help in drawing up a Consent Agreement.
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Q: Can your decision remove negative feedback on another website? | While net-ARB will be happy to rule on feedback matters, we have no authority to force a decision upon anyone who is not a party to the arbitration. However most websites that have feedback ratings for its members also have a provision for removal if they are provided with a ruling or settlement agreement from a valid dispute resolution service. net-ARB is a valid dispute resolution service.
It is up to each party however, to check the terms of use for the website they are using, and to contact them directly about compliance with a net-ARB decision. net-ARB will be happy to answer questions directed to us from your feedback issuer, but we cannot guarantee their compliance.
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