The McCammon Group Adds Discovery Provision for Pre-Dispute Arbitration Agreements

For Immediate Release
April 19, 2010
For more information contact:
Rich Huffman
Direct Dial: (804) 433-2242

In matters that involve an Agreement to Arbitrate that was executed before the dispute arose, The McCammon Group (The Group) has modified its Arbitration Rules to include limited discovery subject to the Arbitrator’s discretion effective April 19, 2010.   The revised rule reads:

Discovery
No discovery will be allowed except by the agreement of the parties or by authority of governing law.  However, in cases arbitrated pursuant to an Agreement to Arbitrate executed before the dispute arose, limited discovery will be allowed subject to the discretion of the Arbitrator.

The Group also continues to require the following conditions to be satisfied in matters involving a pre-dispute Agreement to Arbitrate:

1. The provision must specify that The Group will provide the arbitration service.
2. The provision must specify that The Group’s rules, or some alternative set of rules acceptable to The Group, will govern. If the external Agreement to Arbitrate is silent as to the use of any particular set of rules, The Group’s rules shall govern.  (The Group’s rules referenced in this section will be those in effect at the time the claim is initiated with The Group.)
3. One of the parties initiates the process by asking The Group in writing to proceed to administer the arbitration; with a copy of such writing and a copy of the executed pre-dispute Agreement to Arbitrate provided to the other party or parties involved in the dispute.
4. All parties must have actual notice of the initiation of the arbitration process. If the non-initiating party is not responsive, there must be a showing by the initiating party that there was actual notice provided to the non-initiating party regarding the initiation of the arbitration.
5. There are no known issues or conditions either in the Agreement to Arbitrate or in the surrounding circumstances that would threaten the fundamental fairness of the process.
6. There are no arbitrability issues.  All arbitrability issues will be referred to the trial court for determination.
7. There must be adequate arrangements in place to pay for the services of The Group.

The McCammon Group provides dispute resolution services including mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation, special master, private judge, as well as related training and consulting.  It consists of seventy-five professionals including retired judges and practicing attorneys located throughout Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia.  The McCammon Group is committed to the proposition that ADR processes provide individuals, as well as public and private entities, with many substantial benefits including effective and prompt resolution of disputes, self determination, cost savings, timeliness, flexibility, and confidentiality.  For more information, please visit www.mccammongroup.com.