2005 Articles

ADR happenings By Kristi Hornickel December 2005 High-ranking Utah senator, Orrin Hatch, intends to propose a bill that would establish a federal property rights ombudsperson with the authority to order arbitration or mediation of government cases involving real estate disputes.

ADR happenings By Kristi Hornickel October 2005 Wells Fargo announced late in August that it will discontinue its use of mandatory arbitration clauses in real estate loans.

ADR happenings By Michael O’Brien June 2005 Coming up in early December is a Joint ADR Conference entitled, "Coming Together for Peace."

ADR happenings By Jennifer Morris May 2005 In 2001, the National Conference of Commissioners on State Laws (NCCUSL) drafted the Uniform Mediation Act (UMA), which, if adopted in each state, would bring much-needed uniformity to mediation.

ADR happenings By Michael O’Brien April 2005 On February 25, 2005, the Illinois Senate passed on a new bill concerning the status of an Arbitrator in civil litigation.

Alternative dispute resolution: Making a federal case out of a simple breach of a construction contract case By Stanley N. Wasser April 2005 Out-of-state arbitration issues in construction cases can be a sticky wicket.

Arbitration fees—Who pays? By John Gilbert October 2005 One effective way to deal with the escalating cost of dispute resolution is to simply not pay the fees and costs involved.

Are mediation and neutral evaluation effective in civil cases? By Brendan D. Bukalski June 2005 How effective are mediation and neutral evaluation? Both mediation and neutral evaluation involve a neutral third party, who has no power over the parties; mediation, a process that helps facilitate communication between the parties, and neutral evaluation, a process in which the third party evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the parties' cases, take place in court-connected programs.

Case summaries By Kristi Hornickel December 2005 Recent cases of interest.

Case summaries By Kristi Hornickel October 2005 The Insured, Office Environment, Inc. filed a claim against the Insurer, Lake States Insurance, alleging failure to pay a claim.

Case summaries By Tracie Hunt June 2005 Howard Colman owns Cronus Investments. Colman transferred Dew-All Services, Inc., a home-management business, to Concierge Services, LLC to which Colman has a 20 percent interest. Westrec Marina Management, Inc., owns the remaining of Concierge.

Case summaries By Stanley N. Wasser May 2005 Recent cases of interest to ADR practitioners.

Case summaries By Fallon Opperman April 2005 In August of 2002, Neal Anderson was injured in a traffic accident involving David Pineda. Anderson filed a complaint against Pineda to recover for the injuries suffered in the accident. Anderson also claimed that Pineda's negligence caused the accident.

Case summaries By Michael O’Brien February 2005 In the process of building a dormitory on the campus of the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee's campus, a dispute arose between J.H. Finderoff & Sons (Finderoff) and their union workers over the proper use of Bobcat machinery.

Chair’s column By Hon. Michael S. Jordan October 2005 I feel a great sense of pride and gratitude becoming the Chair of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Section for the year 2005-2006.

Editor’s note By Thomas D. Cavenagh October 2005 Each year, In the Alternative selects students with an interest in Alternative Dispute Resolution to serve as student editors.

Florida: Pressure by Mediator can justify setting aside a settlement By Samia Zayed October 2005 A case brought to Florida's 4th district court of appeals should serve as a reminder to mediators that pressuring or coercing parties to settle is improper and settlements made under these conditions can be set aside.

Is there third-party discovery in arbitration? By John Gilbert February 2005 The subject of discovery has received a lot of attention in the past few years because of the expense involved.

Local programs update By Harris H. Agnew April 2005 All too often in recent times, disputants approach their disagreements on a scorched-earth basis. A take-no-prisoners, in-your-face attitude exists in many instances.

Mediation of financial issues in divorce By Don C. Hammer June 2005 The Illinois Supreme Court, on January 26, 2005, approved a program in the Eleventh Circuit for the mediation of financial and property issues in divorce cases (both pre-decree and post-decree) and family (paternity) cases.

Mediator certification: Good or bad? By Kylie Polson May 2005 Mediators facilitate conversations between parties and help them generate resolutions in numerous situations, but how do parties know if the mediator will be effective?

Message from the Chair By Hon. Michael S. Jordan December 2005 The ADR Section Council has been trying to get out the word that mediation has many advantages over litigation.

Message from the chair: Let the debate begin By Mike Drone February 2005 Several changes in the estate and gift tax law go into effect in 2005.

Message from the Chair: Let the debate continue By Robert E. Wells May 2005 This Section Council looks forward to a healthy dialogue regarding the "best" style of mediation. Hopefully, the "debate" of this topic will expand our understanding of the dynamics of mediation and enhance our abilities and capabilities.

Ombudsmen: Part 1 By Kristi Hornickel October 2005 After a rousing speech in Southern Illinois earlier this year by President Bush, most Americans were ready to jump on the Alternative Dispute Resolution bandwagon, on their way to less-crowded dockets and tort reform for all.

Ombudsmen: Part II By Kristi Hornickel December 2005 The first article in this series established that the purpose of an Ombudsman is to provide individuals with a neutral, unbiased, and confidential resource through which they can voice their concerns without the fear of retribution.

Orders to mediate are not appealable By Deborah S. Bussert May 2005 In a short and concise opinion, Short Brothers Construction, Inc. v. Korte & Luitjohan Contractors, Inc., et al., No. 02-L-61 (Fifth District April 12, 2005), the Illinois Appellate Court for the Fifth District recently held that a mediation order entered by a circuit court judge is not appealable under Supreme Court Rule 307.

Overcoming some common barriers to settlement By Champ W. Davis May 2005 There are many roadblocks to the settlement of a legal dispute. Some are created by the lawyers and clients and arise from the tactics chosen by the negotiators or from the different perceptions each side has as to the value of its claims or defenses.

Practitioner resources By Michael O’Brien February 2005 In the third edition of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Handbook from the ADR Section Council of Texas, we are given a comprehensive look at all aspects of ADR from several different authors.

Recent OCC policies, mediation, and arbitration operate to safeguard national banks from litigation with consumers and states By Daryl Jones February 2005 Recent Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) regulations and mandatory arbitration have combined to undermine the leverage of state Attorneys General in mediation.