Arbitration

Arbitration is the voluntary submission of a dispute to a disinterested expert neutral individual for final and legally binding determination. Arbitration, as opposed to the common court litigation, is not a public forum; therefore, the parties' privacy is preserved. Only when the award is contested in a court of law, that it then becomes public; however, this only happens in very rare occasions. The Award cannot be reviewed by a court, and there is no appeal. Arbitration is a substitute for a trial and the review of court's decision by the appellate courts.

The procedure has been challenged all the way to the United States and Puerto Rico Supreme Courts without success. All 50states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have adopted modern arbitration statutes. The Florida statute is Chapter 682. These statutes provide that agreements may be made to arbitrate existing as well as future disputes; that the courts will not hear disputes subject to valid agreements to arbitrate; and that arbitral awards may be enforced in the courts. The U. S. Supreme Court has held that if there is a dispute about the validity or effectiveness of a contract containing such a clause, it is for the arbitrator--not the courts--to decide the issue.