If you’ve read this Blog for any time at all…you know we are very pronounced with endorsement of Theory and Theme for every Arbitration case. It’s just fundamental Arbitration advocacy! Trusting that you are, in fact, placing a dynamic Theme to start off every case…where does the aspect of Damages fit in with your Opening….
Viewing Arbitration from the head of the table ‘The Arbitrators Chair’ can often prove beneficial for parties. It is noted by most Arbitration organizations that the more detail parties can give about the nature of the Damages in dispute the increasing likelihood the Award will be fully developed and meet the needs of the parties….
While we’ve placed a great deal of focus on a party’s presentation of Documentary Evidence…lest we forget that the Arbitrator’s evaluation of competing Damages argument will also take into account other forms of proof. Think in terms of Opinion Evidence…being certain that you include standards or guidelines on which any opinion is based. We’ve talked about…
The Officer found that the Respondent’s insured was responsible for the accident’…how many times have you seen this narrative presented in a party’s Contentions regarding their case ? ‘We direct the Arbitrator to page 3 of the Police Report and the highlighted portion for Charges assessed Unit # 1’. How many times have you NOT…
Damages cases and particularly Material Damages cases rely heavily on Documentary proofs. This is not to say that other forms of Evidence are not pertinent to the overall Prima Facie Burden, but it is just that competing Damages assessments will most often be evaluated from competing Damages documents. It is true that line items seen…
Often times as parties prepare their cases for Arbitration they have reached a core focus on the primary element in dispute. In this series we’ve come to know that as…Damages! But here’s the thing…do not dismiss Liability. Time and again over many years an Applicant was surprised at their Award to find that the Arbiter had…
Read a party’s presentation on Damages in a case submitted for subrogation arbitration and you will almost surely see the term ‘reasonable’ affixed to their narrative. When a party talks about the steps they took as ‘reasonable’ toward the Damages they eventually had to pay or when they offer the stance the adverse chose was…
If you’ve ever sat on an oversold flight…you know the bartering that can commence as the airline entices passengers to vacate their seat in favor of a later flight to the same destination. Certainly, it can be offered that the air carrier invokes Company Guidelines for how to deal with those situations and there are…
Last edition we talked about ‘Company Guidelines’… a term advocates will often invoke in their Contentions tied to Material Damage presentation. Another often seen phrase in these type of disputes is ‘Industry Standard’ (i.e. – the repairs we performed were in accordance with ‘industry standards’). But what does that mention mean to an Arbitrator? By…
Review any subrogation arbitration case where Damages are contested and as surely as you’ll see ‘in good faith’…you’re going to see the terms ‘Company Guidelines’ and ‘Industry Standards’. So…let’s take a look at what these mean in the context of an Arbitration and the eyes of an Arbitrator. We start with ‘Company Guidelines’. We know…