News Scrapbook 1986

San Diego, Calif. Union (Ci rc D 217,324) ,r. 1 rc. S. 339, 788)

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Daily Transcript (Cir. D. 7,415)

JAN 191986

JAN 2 o 1986

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Jlll~tt•• p c._:e:__1,,_,.r-, s-Bs__ 'ii Arbitration may e the best answer By Diane Lindquist lafl Wril~r M understanding between two teen-age neighbors had escalated to uch b1tternes.s that one allegedly tried to run down the other with his car outside their high school. The case appeared h dcd for a court battle, but mstead the families were per- suaded tom t with a mediator. In the end, they proposed the,r own solutions to the problems nd the dtS ute was settled with- out any lastmg animo ity. In increa ing numbe , people are buck• lng hi h attorney f and crowded court calendars by tu niog to arbitrators, media• tors and concthatn to resolve their differ- en at home, work and elsewhere. 'The whole area 1s just exploding." said DenntS Sharp, regional director of the American Arbitration Association office in downtown San Diego. "I really expect th fi Id to r year 2000, ev rybod 1 will ha •c eard of ar• b1tration and at least know what it · ." Arbitration 1s the most formal of the al- ternatives. Both sides agree to a hearing by an arbitrator who makes a decision that is usually bindmg. Mediation and conciliation involve the use of a person to help brmg conflicting parties to a reconciliation, settlement or cornpr<>m1se m a generally more informal etting In the first 30 to 35 years fter the pas- age of the US Arbitration Act in' 1925, arbitration was used only to resolve labor- rnanagi!Illent cases But smce the 1950s, the use of both arbitration and mediation has been e.xpandmg to a vanety of other fields. For example, th processes could be used to dissolve a partnership, to settle a mal- practice or insurance dispute, or to decide on the mterpretation of a contracl They could be used to work out a child-custody settlement or detenmne whether an em-

...Allen'• P c. B

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the

Aternational~orism i_

a series of rograms spon-

subject 01 th~ "Great Decis' sored by the Francis L. Dale,

orld Affairs Council.

former am- bassador to the U.N., will speak on the topic at 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at the Manchester Center at. USP A_m- bassador Frank E. Maestrone, or• ganizer of the council, and associate profeRsor John Chamhers will serve on u panel following Dale's remarks. ,

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Clairmont-Linda Vista

Star News (Cir. 2xW.) JAN

9 1ClA~

The San Diego Union/Rick McCarthy

Dennis S arp, regional director of the American Arbitration , · his San l~o Off ce.

ployer or an employee has proprietorship over an idea developed at a computer firm. In San Diego, half the 300 cases resolved each year with the help of the American Arbitration Association involve disputes in the realm of construchon. About a third are commercial or business-related, and a fifth are labor-related. But since Sharp moved from Chicago a year ago to head the local office, the range of cases has broadened. He plans to expand the area of mediation and he has added two panels of arbitrators and mediators to deal with high-technology disputes and divorces. Other local organi7.ations and individuals also exist to handle situahons that call for arbitration or mediation. The U.S. Federal Mediation and Concilia- tion Service maintains a list of local labor arbitrators Former judges are available through the orgaruzation Alternatives to Litigation.

The North County Association of Divorce Mediators is in its second year. And about 70 individuals from the Golden Hill and Mira Mesa-Scripps Ranch neighborhoods have been trained to mediate disputes in those areas as part of the 1.!.'!!Y;risty of San Diego Law Center's Commum y Mediation Programs. - The non-profit arbitration association ad- ministers some of the biggest cases, howev- er. It provides several names from its panel of lawyers and experts who are selected and trained to serve as mediators or arbi- trators. Sharp and bis associate, Dian Black, arrange meeting places or hearing rooms, write briefs and perform a variety of other duties. Mediation costs range from about $100 to $250 for insurance, labor, construction and family cases. The charge for commercial cases is based on a percentage of the claim See ARBITRATION on Page 1-10

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Doranne Oill•STAR·NEWS

_ty of San Ojego campus. The facility, which is scheduled to open in October, will offer a lounge

FOR HISTORY: At a ceremony held recently, ar- chitect Roy Drew signed the last beam of the· student center that he designed for the Universi-

and dining areas.

itration: Talking it over is on upswing as a solid solution · · -,q?~ ·· · · ·d ate a pre-nuptial agreement, a sepa- Programs . A Continued from I l e>'-. the alternatives to llt1gation with law section. "It is a more civilized way," sa1 ration and a modification of a di- A center operates m each of the Add1t1onal fees are sometimes suspicion and would not recommen~ "High-technology law is a relative- lawyer Elizabeth Allen "They don't vorce agreement. neighborhoods and volunteers have paid the arbitrators and mediators 1! to clients that they ha_ve cases arb1- ly new branch of old law, but the have to spend their laS t dollar They The process can help families de- been trained to act as mediators. the ca exceed one day. Most of trafed or mediated, said Edgar Luce application of contracts are unique. don't have to take two years. They cide where Grandma will live,,or Hallstrom said the problems have their work, however 1s done free of Jr., one of the lawyers who is c~lled A lot of creative lawyering is going don't have to drag their children into help a gay child break the news to his va~1ed from disputes betwe~n two charge. occasionally to serve as an arb1tra- on," he said. court." or her parents or help parents win neighbors, to people and busrnesses, Sharp said his office co.~ld ~andle tor Arbitration's speedy resolution of Faye Girsh, a psychologiS t who control over di~ruptive children. to landlords a_nd tenants, to individu- up to 1500 cases a year. _We re th e "But T think as time has gone ?n, disputes is of particular advantage in also works toge th er wil h a lawyer 10 "Sometimes mediation involves als and agencies. . . . smallest office m the nat10n -:-- b~t attorneys have come to _recogmze instances in which marketing might divorce mediation, said some couples just letting somebody have their say "What we are domg with media- not forever. I plan on makmg it that they will receive a fair hearmg be held up by court litigation until a are so distrustful of each 0th er th at and gettmg it all out,. she said. tion doesn't have reference m gener- gr~w,' he said. . and the result will be as cor~ect and potential product has been eclipsed court litigation is th e only way th e Perhaps the most' unusual use of al society,'' she said. We have a very good reputallon accurate as they can expect m court by newer developments. matter can be resolved. mediation is in regard to neighbor- Nevertheless, the program has amo~g the. people .who use us. _ and that they can do it in a ~?ch As the industry grows in San For others, th ough, mediation hood disputes in the Golden Hill and been successful a~d action is under !h~y re commg out w1th..settlements shorter time and at less expense.. Diego, disputes and the use of arbi- helps remove the so-often lingering Mira Mesa-Scripps Ranch areas. way to expan_d_ 11 soon to Ocean mJust about ev~ry case . Arbitrat10n is expected to be espe- tration to resolve them will also bitterness. The model programs were devel- Beach and Pac1f1c Beach. . . The process 1 _praised as savmg cially useful in disputes involvmg_the grow, Peddycord said. "We hope the couple gets an emo- oped by the USD Law Center to re- Last year, 993 people parhc1pat~d money, lime, anxiety and stress for high-tech mdustry because the field Another area expected to attract tional divorce so when th e divorce is spond to the ineffectiveness of the in the resolut10n of some form of d1s- htigants, and spar ng Judges and is so new, said Robert Peddycord, a mcreasing resolution through the liti- over they feel better about it." justice system to deal with the prob- pule in the two commumties cu~rent- courtroom for_ larger claun.s. Pro- lawyer on the association's panel of gation alternatives is divorce. Law- Girsh, director of th e Divorce a nd !ems that can arise in communities, ly involved. The rate of resolut10n of ceedmgs are pmate, with no_ public computer arbitrators, and chairm~n yers and therapists, often working in Child Custody Mediation Service. said Carol Hallstrom, executive di- the pr?blems was 90 percent and the record of what ~cun:ed durmg the of the San Diego County Bar Assoc1a- teams, offer themselves to mediate said mediation can be used in ° th er rector of the Community Mediation compliance was 80 percent. course of the arbitration hearing or tion's high-technology and computer the differences between the parties. family situations. Parties can medi- mediatmn talks.

\\ ith roughly 260,000 new civil cases filed each year, the court5 are becoming increasingly congested. In San Diego's Supenor Courts, 1t takes an average of two years to get on the docket. In Los Angeles, it takes five years. Although some cases still might be better suited for litigation, even U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger has put his stamp of approval on the use of the alternatives. "In the private interest,'' he said in a recent speech, "we must move toward takmg a large volume of pri• vate conflicts out of the courts and into the channels of arbitration, me• d1ation and conc1hation. "I cannot emphasize too strongly to tho c m bu ·mess and industry - and !'.specially to lawyers - that every private contract of real conse- quence to the parties ought to be treated as a candidate for binding private arbitration." Bill Yale retired five years ago after 11 years on the Super r Court bench. Today he has a private busi• ness here in which he mediates an average of four ca es a week. "The public generally is upset with the court ystem today," Yale said. "They can't get a courtroom .. and often the ro t of litigation will ex- ceed the settlement." Years ago, most attorneys viewed

San Diego, CA (San Diego Co.) Daily Transcript (Cir. D. 7,415)

JAN 22 1986

..Allf!t1 1 S

F,1, 1888

P, C, 8

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,

n. expe~· . 1;1t i

A

tel~conferen- penor Court,

cing 1s to b to save la

e trouble of ap• pearing in person at Dept. 1 on some matters. The AT&T gear was installed in Judge Don Smith's courtroom Monday for use later this week or next. USD I w pro- fessor Robert S~ons is running the experiment, which debuted federal court last month. * * * __.-,:;;._ __.