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What types
of disputes can be arbitrated?
What is Binding Arbitration?
What rights do I give up by agreeing to Binding Arbitration:
What is the difference between Arbitration and a traditional Court
Trial?:
Is Binding Arbitration via the Internet generally accepted?
Do I need an
attorney?
What are the advantages of binding Arbitration?
How
long does Binding Arbitration take?
Who is the Arbitrator?
Are the Arbitrators
completely neutral?
What laws will the
Arbitrators use in their decisions?
What will the
Arbitrators decide upon?
Can disputing parties communicate direct with the Arbitrator?
What happens after the Arbitrator's decision is issued?
Award and Enforcement
How do I start the
Arbitration process?
How do I contact FreightDisputes or ask for additional information:
What types
of disputes can be arbitrated?
In general, any type of disagreement can be arbitrated,
including contract disputes involving businesses and consumers, domain
name disputes, employment claims, real estate and construction issues,
and tort and civil rights matters. Generally, Arbitration is utilized
when there is some sort of adversarial situation and continuing an
amicable relationship is not a top priority. In the case of
FreightDisputes, we limit our services to Arbitration matters concerning
freight and cargo disputes. We do NOT handle Arbitration of other
disputes.
What is Binding Arbitration?
Arbitration is an informal process in which two parties present their
views of a dispute to a neutral third party, an Arbitrator, who will
decide how the dispute will be resolved. Binding arbitration means that
both parties are legally bound by the Arbitrator's decision with no
remedy for appeal.
What rights do I give up by agreeing to Binding Arbitration:
You agree to give up your right to have your disagreement
decided in court of law by a judge or a jury in the court system. You
give up your rights to appeal the decision of the Arbitrator or the
majority decision of the Panel of Arbitrators for any reason whatsoever.
You give up your right to punitive damages. You waive your right
to any possible statute of limitations defense.
What is the difference between Arbitration and a traditional Court
Trial?:
There are a number of significant differences including:
1) The Arbitrator (or an Arbitration Panel) makes the
decision.
2) The arbitration does not take place in a courtroom. In the case
of FreightDisputes the Arbitration takes place via the Internet.
3) The arbitration award is binding. There is no right to appeal.
4) Arbitration is not a matter of public record. The proceedings are
private and confidential. Generally there is not a court reporter or
written transcripts.
5) Discovery or the process by which lawyers generally prepare their
cases is extremely limited and subject to agreed upon guidelines.
6) The rules of evidence are relaxed so that the parties have a broader
scope, more expanded opportunity to tell their stories;
7) With very few exceptions, it is much less expensive than legal
litigation.
8) An arbitration time frame is substantially less than that of
litigation and going to trial.
9) No jury. The Arbitrator(s) maintain neutrality and conflicts of
interests.
10) Generally, all paperwork and evidence presented are destroyed after
the Arbitration.
11) The Arbitration and Arbitration Award does not have to adhere to
Judicial Case precedent nor formality of traditional court proceedings.
Is
Binding Arbitration via the Internet generally accepted?
Yes. It is well known that international
arbitration is a mechanism for the final and binding determination of
disputes concerning contractual or other relationships that have an
international element, by independent arbitrators, in accordance with
procedures, structures and substantive legal or non-legal standards
chosen directly or indirectly by the parties. Online arbitration
is a relatively new form of arbitration which has developed with the
increase of uses of the Internet. Some of the arbitration
institutions with long traditions are providing dispute resolution
services online. For example, the World Intellectual Property
Organization, the International Chamber of Commerce and the American
Arbitration Association conduct arbitration procedures online.
Do I need an attorney?
Although it is more informal than court trial,
Arbitration is an adversarial process. You are not required to
engage an Attorney unless you feel more comfortable having an Attorney
present your case. If you do retain an attorney, you assume the
costs and expenses of doing so and cannot claim this as an arbitration
expense.
What are the advantages of binding Arbitration?
Binding arbitration is less formal and technical than court
Binding arbitration offers quicker resolution of the dispute
Binding arbitration is far less expensive than court
Binding arbitration waives the disputer's right to have his or her claim
decided in court
Binding arbitration provides finality, but severely limits right to
appeal
Binding arbitration provides a private and confidential forum
How
long does Binding Arbitration take?
Normally around 30-45 days from start to finish.
After agreeing to proceed, both parties are given 10 days to present
their cases followed by 10 days to prepare counter-arguments and then up
to 20 days for the Arbitrator to prepare their decision. As
Arbitration is less formal that Court hearings, the Arbitrator is open
to requests for an extension of time from either Party.
Who is the Arbitrator?
All Freight-Dispute Arbitrators are drawn from the transportation and logistics community.
Each Arbitrator has, at minimum 10-15 years experience in a senior management roles,
is completely fluent in the English language and has a clean criminal background.
Are the Arbitrators
completely neutral?
Arbitrators will not be involved in any disputes in which they have any
relationships with either party. Arbitrators shall sign an oath pledging
to make an impartial decision in individual disputes. If the Arbitrator
believes that he or she cannot make an impartial decision and/or has any
conflict of interest, he or she has agreed that they shall refuse to serve.
What laws will the
Arbitrators use in their decisions?
Arbitrator will be asked to make decisions that they believe are fair
based on the facts of each case and the relevant principles and issues
presented for resolution. Unlike in Court, relevant statutory law
is not applied, just a combination of common sense, fairness, equity and applied
experience.
What will the
Arbitrators decide upon?
The Arbitrator's decision may order an action to be performed,
money to be paid, or a combination of these remedies. In addition, the
Arbitrator has the discretion to assess the costs of the arbitration
against the losing party, or to distribute the costs between the parties
in whatever proportion he/she deems equitable.
Can disputing parties communicate direct with the Arbitrator?
Absolutely not. In order to ensure the greatest level of neutrality,
there will be no direct communications with the Arbitrators. All
communication with the Arbitrator shall be through the FreightDisputes
and any violation of this rule may result in your case being
discontinued.
What happens after the Arbitrator's decision is issued?
The disputing parties will have previously agreed to be legally bound to
abide by the Arbitrator's decision and must comply with the decision’s
terms. Each party will have previously agreed to giving up any right to
sue the other party in court on any claim that has been resolved at the
Arbitration unless the party directed to perform according to the
Arbitrator(s) decision fails to so. Either party may apply to a court of
competent jurisdiction for confirmation and enforcement of the
arbitrator’s award.
Award and Enforcement
Should the winning party need to enforce the Arbitration Award, they are
substantially easier to enforce in foreign courts than foreign court
judgments. If an arbitral award fulfills the requirements of the
Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
(also known as the "New York Convention") (which FreightDisputes does)
and is issued in a country which is a party to the New York Convention
(which FreightDisputes is), the award should be enforceable in any
other member state of New York Convention. See
www.uncitral.org/uncitral/en/uncitral_texts/arbitration/NYConvention_status.html
for such member states. The Convention provides that each
country must "recognize [arbitral] awards as binding and enforce them in
accordance with the rules of procedure of the territory where the award
is relied on." This means the party only needs to supply the local court
with an authenticated original or duly certified copy of the award and
the original or a certified copy of the arbitration agreement in order
to apply for enforcement.
How
do I start the Arbitration process?
If you have signed an agreement or contract already
containing an arbitration clause, you should read and follow the
requirements specified. However, regardless of the clause, both
parties can agree to Arbitration via FreightDisputes. The process
is started by advising FreightDisputes of your intention to
File an Arbitration Case.
How do I contact FreightDisputes or ask for additional information:
Due
to the nature of our services and the need to provide completely neutral
services, we require that all contact be in the form of email with
scanned attachments if applicable. If your correspondence relates
to an Arbitration, the contents will be shared with all parties involved
without exception. We can be contacted at
info@FreightDisputes and will
respond to all emails within 24 hours. Please do not contact
FreightDisputes once the Discovery Process has been completed as, by
doing so, you risk your case being discontinued.
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