Having presented to the Arbitrator via your Contentions that Damages are in Dispute…parties will then introduce as Evidence audits or reports used to support a position that either the amount owed is less (Respondent) OR the amount sought is sustained (Applicant). Occasionally, models or reports presented by the parties in the case and as received from the ‘service’ they use can benefit from your advocacy. What do we mean ? Occasionally, these ‘Reviews’ whether property oriented (as with a vehicle) or claimant related (as with an individuals injuries) can be challenging for Arbitrators to understand; especially within the confines of written-brief Arbitration (meaning there is no one of whom the Arbitrator can ask questions for clarification).
So what to do as you strive to present your best case ? It can be important to qualify from where the adjustments came. If they came from an ‘Industry Standard’ then state or explain how that standard is applicable. Often times you will see the word ‘reasonable’ within an audits explanation for the figures they arrived at. This is a very subjective term and left to the Arbiter’s discretion; perhaps you (as the advocate) take it a step further and offer why the end analysis is in fact ‘Reasonable’. Additionally, models varying vendors use can be different and possibly based off of assumptions when created. The Arbiter may be cognizant of that.
On the Documentary Evidence side; summarize on the Evidence itself the numbers (or calculations) you want the Arbitrator to see. Do not force them to look elsewhere. Highlight and summarize these amounts right on the Evidence itself. It assists you in drawing the causal connection between what you want the Award to read and what the actual Evidence supports. So ‘audit’ your audit for your own advocacy.
Case Presentation 101 is produced by Claims Resource Services; one of the nations top arbitration and subrogation services firms. The writer Kevin Pike can be reached at kpike@claimsresource.com and has daily tips on arbitration via Twitter: @Arb2Win
