ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR)Conciliatory ADR
EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION LR 16.5(a)
is a pretrial process involving a neutral evaluator from the Federal Court Panel of neutrals who meets with the parties early in the case to help them focus on the issues, organize discovery, work expeditiously to prepare the case for trial, and, if possible, settle all or part of the case. If the case will not be
settled through ENE, the neutral evaluator will provide the parties with an evaluation of the legal and factual issues.
MEDIATION LR 16.6 (a)
is an informal, non-binding settlement negotiation process in which a neutral mediator from the Federal Court Panel attempts to help the parties overcome obstacles to settlement.
Adjudicative ADR
ARBITRATION LR 16.7 (a)
is a non-binding adjudicative process by which a neutral or panel of neutrals
decides the rights and obligations of the parties. Arbitrators are guided by the Federal Rules of Evidence, but are not bound by
the Rules. Any party dissatisfied with the arbitration award has a right to file a demand for a trial de novo with one caveat--a judge may assess certain costs against the party demanding the trial de novo if that party does not obtain a more favorable outcome than the arbitration award and the Court determines that the party acted in bad faith by filing its demand. The Northern District of Ohio serves as a pilot district for a voluntary arbitration program.
SUMMARY JURY TRIAL LR 16.8 (a)
is an ADR procedure founded and pioneered by former Chief Judge Thomas D. Lambros. A summary jury trial is a non-binding process wherein the parties present their case in summary fashion to a panel or panels of jurors. The jurors then deliberate and render an advisory verdict which can be used by the parties as an aid to settlement negotiations. The process generally takes no longer than one day.
SUMMARY BENCH TRIAL LR 16.9(a)
is a variation on the summary jury trial that is intended for cases not triable to a jury. Instead of making a summary presentation to a jury, the summary presentation is made to a judicial officer other than the one who would preside at a binding trail. The judicial officer then renders an advisory verdict which can be used by the parties as an aid to settlement negotiations
Other ADR
EXTRAJUDICIAL ADR LR 16.10
Parties are also encouraged to consider the
use of other ADR procedures to resolve disputes. Extrajudicial ADR procedures are commonly referred to as "private ADR." In private ADR, the role of the neutral may be played by a retired judge, law professor, lawyer or other individual with experience in the adopted alternative dispute resolution technique. Private sector dispute resolution firms frequently provide experienced neutrals for a reasonable fee. ENE, mediation and arbitration are available as both
court-annexed and extrajudicial ADR options. Other ADR techniques that have been used successfully by other courts include: fact-finding, negotiation, conciliation and private trials or mini-trials.
Neutrals
The Federal Court Panel of Neutrals is comprised of over 300 prominent attorneys and financial experts who serve, predominantly on a pro bono basis, as neutrals on cases referred to Early Neutral Evaluation, Mediation and court-annexed Arbitration.
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