Mediation is where a professional, often a retired judge or attorney, helps the parties come to an agreement about the case and possibly resolves it. Mediation is private, enforceable in court, and can be very effective at helping parties settle a personal injury case.
Often, once a significant amount of discovery has been completed in a case, a judge will order the parties to attend mediation before a trial date can be set.
Arbitration is very different. Arbitration is when the parties have an arbitrator or panel issue an opinion on the matter or case. Arbitration can be binding or non-binding. That is, sometimes in San Francisco a court will direct the parties to non-binding arbitration at the beginning of a case. This is done in an attempt to get the parties to see how a neutral person might decide the matter and help settle the case. It can be effective but often is not helpful because the decision by the arbitrator, who is normally a judge or attorney, is non-binding, which means the parties do not have to follow it.
Binding arbitration is just as it sounds – it binds the parties to a decision with very limited means of appeal. Arbitration can be less costly than trial and is being used more and more often by courts and parties to litigation.
Both mediation and arbitration are types of “alternative dispute resolution” or ADR and are utilized by the courts in San Francisco.
If you or a member of your family have been injured in an accident in the San Francisco area or throughout California, call me at (415) 293-8231 and let’s discuss your accident in detail.
Or you can e-mail me at info@burlisonlaw.com.
