Alternative Dispute Resolution

Lawyer arrested in alleged assault of golf club employee; club didn’t call cops, offered her $500

A 59-year-old Wisconsin lawyer was arrested Monday in the claimed sexual groping of an employee at a golf club. However, Christopher Hale has not been charged in the Aug. 16 incident at the River Club of Mequon, and his attorney points out that the standard for an arrest is lower…

Sep 3, 2015 1:45 PM CDT

Cited by animal control in dog dispute, couple responds with ‘douchebag’ yard sign

After new neighbors asked a Texas family to keep their four dogs inside until later in the morning, James and Lisa Price say they tried to cooperate with the retired couple. But a $121 ticket from the municipal animal control department after the dogs “were going nuts” about something one…

Aug 14, 2015 1:45 PM CDT

Chicago OKs stop-and-frisk pact with ACLU

Responding to claims by a civil rights group that Chicago police disproportionately target blacks for “stop-and-frisk” searches based on reasonable suspicion, the city has agreed to a settlement that involves third-party monitoring. Announced Friday, the pact incorporates many of the suggestions in a March 2015 report (PDF) by the American…

Aug 7, 2015 1:05 PM CDT

Arbitration website hack is likely the work of Chinese hackers, cyberthreat group says

A page on the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s website was hacked earlier this month, and the culprits are likely Chinese hackers, according to a cyberthreat research team called ThreatConnect. ThreatConnect’s claim of the hack was confirmed by a source close to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Am Law Daily…

Jul 24, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Contesting a traffic ticket? Getting divorced? Some jurisdictions use software to resolve the issues

Some jurisdictions and companies are using software to help resolve personal injury claims, tax disputes, traffic tickets and divorce issues. One company, Modria, is branching out after developing software to help eBay and PayPal solve customer complaints, the Associated Press reports. Modria’s software is now used in several jurisdictions to…

Jul 14, 2015 5:45 AM CDT

What can US and UK lawyers learn from each other about best practices?

American and British lawyers can learn from each other and borrow examples of good practice from both systems to improve litigation and arbitration overall, attorneys said at a panel discussion at the ABA London Sessions on Saturday. In recent years, international arbitration has borrowed good practice from both the U.S.…

Jun 13, 2015 11:07 AM CDT

Warring parties in Robin Williams estate case make progress, with mediator’s help

The widow and three adult children of actor Robin Williams are still at odds over the ownership of some of his personal belongings and the money needed to maintain his widow’s home. But, with the help of a mediator, they have resolved issues concerning a number of other items, so…

Jun 1, 2015 4:30 PM CDT

Vintage store operator says threat of social-media shaming is best way to deter shoplifting

Some might think calling police on those who shoplift would be the best way to deter other potential thieves. But the operator of a Philadelphia vintage store says she has found a better way, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. Betsy Bassel put up signs at Scout Salvage and Vintage Rescue warning…

May 29, 2015 4:15 PM CDT

Earlier clean-costume dispute helped fired Disney workers get rehired in Lion King case

More than a decade ago, a dispute over the condition of skintight underwear performers at Walt Disney World were required to don beneath their costumes led to new contract provisions intended to guarantee the cleanliness of the garments. Those provisions helped three Walt Disney World performers, who were fired last…

Apr 29, 2015 12:45 PM CDT

Reed Smith can’t arbitrate malpractice claim; ex-client, an attorney, didn’t sign required form

Reed Smith has lost its bid to arbitrate a malpractice claim concerning a $20.5 million insurance settlement over a 2012 fire in a former client’s Villanova, Pennsylvania, mansion. There was a mandatory arbitration provision in the law firm’s engagement letter. But then-homeowner Jerald Batoff, who himself is an attorney, said…

Apr 17, 2015 2:30 PM CDT

Fired over blond highlights, former Hooters waitress wins $250K arbitration award

A former Hooters waitress who says she was fired over her blonde highlights after a manager told her “black people don’t have blonde hair,” has won more than $250,000 in an arbitration award. The hair-color policy “was implemented in a discriminatory manner adversely affecting African-American women,” wrote arbitrator Edmund D.…

Apr 3, 2015 11:10 AM CDT

More companies thwart employee class actions in arbitration agreements

More companies are requiring employees to arbitrate serious complaints and barring them from bringing class actions after a 2011 Supreme Court decision upholding a ban on class actions in consumer disputes. The result, lawyers tell the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), is a drop in class action suits accusing corporations…

Apr 1, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

Homeowners association OKs playhouse for sick girl, 6, after dad appeals to court of public opinion

A 6-year-old Missouri girl can’t leave her home to play with other children in her neighborhood because she is seriously ill with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. So the little girl, Ella Joe Schultz, dreamed of having a playhouse in her back yard. Make-A-Wish Missouri, with the help of donated materials and…

Mar 6, 2015 3:30 PM CST

‘Radical reform’ to state law would allow couples to divorce outside court, if approved

Two Minnesota lawmakers have drafted legislation that would offer a new alternative to traditional divorce to those who want it. The Cooperative Private Divorce proposal, which family therapists helped them write, would offer couples a chance to essentially create their own divorce terms, outside the family court system, reports the…

Mar 4, 2015 4:00 PM CST

Federal judge: NFL commissioner and arbitrator erred in suspending ex-Vikings player Adrian Peterson

Agreeing with the NFL Players Union that a new personal conduct policy for the football league did not apply retroactively, a federal judge on Thursday said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and an arbitrator erred by indefinitely suspending Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson last year over his misdemeanor child-abuse conviction.…

Feb 26, 2015 1:40 PM CST