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Historically, legal disputes have been resolved by either side taking a stance and hoping to prevail before a judge and jury. This process tends to be expensive, stagnant, and grueling. Most of the time, these disputes are settled before proceeding to trial, yet after accumulating costly expenses.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) offers a more efficient way of settling civil disputes outside of a traditional courtroom while still offering a legally bounded resolution. ADR provides civil litigants an opportunity to settle legal disputes in a fair, timely, and cost-efficient process with a third-party, neutral judge. This is done while still affording the client more control regarding the disputative outcome.
Mediators have the ethical duty to remain impartial and outside the role of legal advisor. Although it is not necessary to have your own attorney, it is highly encouraged as they will serve to represent and advise you throughout the mediation.
Mediation is a legally non-binding process, and parties can not be forced into accepting a resolution. However, if both parties voluntarily decide to accept the terms of their settlement, a written and signed legally-bounded contract can be created which would then be enforceable in a court of law.
Mediation refers to the confidential process by which a neutral mediator assists the parties in attempting to reach a mutually acceptable agreement on issues arising in a dispute. Mediation is not a court proceeding; rather, it is an independent, non-record proceeding in lieu of court involvement for the purpose of assisting the parties in reaching a settlement. An agreement reached by the parties must be based on the voluntary decisions of the parties and not the decision of the mediator.
Arbitration refers to a non-judicial hearing of a dispute that both sides agree will result in a final decision on the merits of the dispute. The parties to the arbitration submit the dispute to an arbitrator, or panel of arbitrators, for review, hearing, and adjudication in a legally-binding decision. Arbitration is an abbreviated, efficient means of resolving disputes, the outcome of which contractually has the force of a mandatory, binding determination.
Arbitration offers a faster, more cost-efficient and confidential means to settle a dispute as opposed to litigation which is a public procedure. Litigations can last years due to pre-trial discovery, appeal process, backlog of the court's schedule and the unreliability of a jury. With arbitration, the arbitrator is selected based on experience whereas in litigation, a trial judge is assigned without input from the parties. The decisions made in arbitration are final and can not be appealed except in limited circumstances whereas either party may appeal the court's decision in litigation. Therefore, arbitration is innately cheaper, faster, and confidential.
An appraisal is a detailed, written assessment of a property’s worth and replacement value conducted by an appraiser or relevant expert based on its estimated Market Value. A property insurance replacement cost appraisal provides the estimated cost to replace property that has been destroyed by a covered cause of loss, from the ground up, with a property of like kind and quality. It also includes the cost to upgrade the property to current codes, and the cost to prepare the property including the demolition of any of the former structure that might remain on the site.
Typically, insurance companies have their own appraisal clause as well as their own insurance defense personnel subset division who appraise insured property as representative of the insurance company. This price point is typically much lower than the estimated replacement value of public adjustors who represent the people. It is important that property owners hire their own property insurance appraisers in order to help settle any settle claim valuation disputes and provide adequate coverage for personal belongings.
A property insurance umpire is a legally binding arbitrator who acts as an impartial individual to make a final decision regarding the value of a property or the amount of property loss. This is a relevant means of resolution if an insurer and an insured cannot agree on the amount of a claim payment for a property.The umpire clause is essentially the same as an arbitration clause only it is specific for settling disputes between an insurance company and the insured.
All civil cases in which the parties are represented by counsel are eligible
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