“The existing judicial system is too costly, too painful, too destructive, too inefficient for a truly civilized people...  To rely on the adversarial process as the principal means of resolving conflicting claims is a mistake that must be corrected."  The Late Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
Established, Exceptional Service. 
Colorado Mediators & Arbitrators™ provides Alternative Dispute Resolution services that
balance time, money, and quality.

 

Covid 19 Accommodations:  We are continuing to provide services utilizing Zoom Web Conferencing, DocuSign, and Other Virtual Systems.  

Colorado Mediators & Arbitrators™ | COMA was founded in 2005 to resolve disputes while balancing quality, cost, and efficiency.  We are committed to fairness and fair process in both Mediation (negotiated settlement) & Arbitration (a private judge renders a decision.) COMA mediates business, real estate, and divorce matters with excellence. Our 3-tiered arbitration program offers a targeted approach that removes prohibitive arbitration costs by tying the amount of claim to the type of hearing, and that provides for expediency and efficiency.

If the thought of litigation makes you question your own stamina and resources, we are here to save you thousands of dollars in litigation costs and cut off months, if not years, in the judicial court process.  Get a fair settlement while spending less time and money.  

Mediation:  A confidential negotiation of the disputed matters.  Mediation allows maximum control with minimal cost utilizing a professional negotiator who assists disputing parties to find mutually satisfactory solutions to their differences.  Approximately 95% of all cases filed in court are resolved prior to trial.  When agreement is reached, a Memorandum of Understanding is executed and enforceable in court.  We make every effort to schedule mediation quickly, within 30 days of the filing of the Mediation Submission Agreement. 

File for Mediation
Mediation Fee Agreement
File for Earnest Money Mediation
Mediation Fee Agreement
 

Med-Arbitration:  Med-Arbitration is a form of dispute resolution that combines the self-determination of mediation with the finality of arbitration.  In the initial stage of a Med-Arbitration proceeding, the parties attempt to reach a voluntary settlement through negotiation that is facilitated by a single, neutral Med-Arbitrator.  If settlement is not reached, the parties are given a full and fair hearing by the same Med-Arbitrator.  After considering the evidence and testimony presented, the Med-Arbitrator shall render a simple written decision which is binding on the parties.

  File for Med-Arbitration - Joint Agreement Required     
  Med-Arbitration Fee Agreement
  Med-Arbitration Rules of Procedure

Arbitration:  A confidential binding decision by a private judge.  Arbitration provides speedy resolution to disputed matters.  Colorado Mediators & Arbitrators™ offers a 3-Tiered Arbitration Program that makes financial sense evaluating costs and benefits.  We make every effort to conclude Documentary and Teleconference Hearings within 60 days of the initial filing.

Adobe .pdf Form Document Arbitration Hearing for Claims Under $15,000
Adobe .pdf Form Teleconference Arbitration Hearing for Claims Under $75,000
Adobe .pdf Form Standard Arbitration Hearing for Claims of $75,000 & Over
Arbitration Fee Agreement
 

 

 

An Appeal to Equity

Four Theses:  Preliminary to an Appeal to Equity

Darien Shanske, Author

[Draft – Final Version Published 57 Stanford Law Review 2053 (2005)]

“Equity is justice in that it goes beyond the written law. And it is equitable to prefer arbitration to the law court, for the arbitrator keeps equity in view, whereas the judge looks only to the law, and the reason why arbitrators were appointed was that equity might prevail.”

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Enforcing Arbitration Awards

CONFIRMING ARBITRATION AWARDS: TAKING THE MYSTERY OUT OF A SUMMARY PROCEEDING

Authors Susan Wiens and Roger Haydock.  This Article updates an earlier article: Daniel D. Derner & Roger S. Haydock, Confirming an Arbitration Award, 23 WM. MITCHELL L. REV. 879 (1997).

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Mediation Preparation

Prepare for Mediation

Mediation is an extremely effective method of resolving disputes.  There are several things that enhance the possibility of success.

1.  Preparation: Bring anything that may be helpful to refer to when negotiating your settlement.  Sometimes research is also helpful.  If you find a resource in a book or online, bring copies with you to refer to when making your point.  Accurate information is powerful only when presented at the right time. 

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Supreme Court Upholds Arbitration Provision in Credit Card Contract

Credit Cards

By Debra Cassens Weiss

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that consumers who received the Aspire Visa credit card are bound by a mandatory arbitration provision in their applications. 

Excerpts:

The plaintiffs had claimed in a class action suit that they were promised $300 in available credit, but were charged $257 in fees. They maintained that the Credit Repair Organizations Act gave them a right to sue. They cited a provision in the CROA requiring credit repair organizations to tell consumers, “You have the right to sue a credit repair organization that violates the Credit Repair Organization Act.”

Gary Paul, president of the American Association for Justice, criticized the decision in a press release. “With this ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court has given corporations a way to escape accountability by forcing consumers into a rigged and biased forced arbitration process, even when Congress expressly provides a remedy in a court of law," he said.

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Top Ten Mistakes Lawyers Make In Arbitration And Tips on How to Avoid Them!

"For over 20 years I have presided over or participated as a panelist in hundreds of arbitrations.  Those experiences have shown me the good, the bad and the ugly.  Quite frankly, there are many more seriously egregious mistakes I have seen lawyers make; it was difficult to pare this list down to 10."  Author Phil Cutler of Cutler Nylander & Hayton PS

#10 – Play Games:  Engage in Cheap Games and Discovery Abuse; Continue Gamesmanship During the Hearing

#9 – Display Anger, Animosity and Rudeness:  Personalize Everything; Engage in Ad Hominem Attacks

#8 – Overuse or Misuse Technology:  Use Fancy but Unnecessary Technological or Demonstrative Aids; Fail to Know how to use Them

#7 – Waste Opportunities to Persuade the Arbitrator:  Assume the Arbitrator Shares Your Knowledge of the Case; Fail to Analyze, Distill and Organize Your Case; File Long and Unpersuasive Briefs

#6 – Ask Inappropriate Questions; Fail to Pick up on an Opportunity to Deal   With Something the Arbitrator views as Important; Ignore a Witness’s Non-Responsive Answer:  Ask Questions That are not Really Questions or ask Overly Legalistic Questions of a Lay Witness; Rebuff Questions from the Arbitrator

#5 – Assume the Evidentiary Rules in Arbitration are the Same as Those in Court:  Fail to Take the Time to Understand the Rules of Evidence; Make Numerous and Ineffective Evidentiary Objections

#4 – Misuse Cross-Examination of Witnesses:  Try and use Cross to Prove Your Case in Chief; Fail to Plan Cross Before the Hearing

#3 – Continue Blithely on, Ignoring What Common Sense Tells (or Should Tell) You:  Fail to Know When to Stop; Treat the Arbitrator as an Unsophisticated Rube

#2 – Make it Difficult for the Arbitrator to Rule in Your Client’s Favor:  Fail to Organize Your Case and get Your Client’s Story Across

#1 – Fail to Tell the Arbitrator Exactly What Your Client Wants:  Don’t Tell her, Keep it a Secret; Hope the Arbitrator “gets it” by Osmosis

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