Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
Arbitration Contacts and Procedures
State Links

Center for Dispute Resolution: A comprehensive Web site that includes information about mediation for the public, a roster, legislation, training and employment opportunities for neutrals, executive orders, standards, codes of ethics for mediators, Alabama Supreme Court Commission on Dispute Resolution information, state agency task force materials, ADR conference calendar and links, brochures, Uniform Mediation Act information, and news.

Proposed Alabama Arbitration Act (April 2001 draft)

Arbitration Registration Standards and Procedures (effective January 1, 2003)

Arbitration Agreements: The Consumer’s Perspective (brochure)

Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Alaska Court System: This is a report from the Alaska Judicial Council that summarizes Alaskan ADR programs and proposals.

Superior Court of Arizona, Maricopa County Includes general information and FAQs about the services provided by the Arizona Superior Court ADR office and court-connected ADR programs.

Rule 7(f) of Arizona's Uniform Rules of Procedure for Arbitration provides that if the parties seek a trial de novo from court-annexed arbitration, and judgment on the trial de novo is not more favorable by at least 10 percent, the appellant must pay (1) the arbitrator’s compensation to the county ($75); (2) costs and reasonable attorney's fees; (3) expert witness fees.

Arkansas Judiciary, Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission: Includes general information about the Arkansas Judiciary Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission and contains links to the Arkansas Judiciary.

Judicial Council of California
Administrative Office of the Courts
Heather S. Anderson, Staff Attorney
455 Golden Gate Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102-3660
(415) 865-7691
(415) 865-7664 Fax
heather.anderson@jud.ca.gov

Judicial Arbitrator Application (San Francisco Superior Court)

Los Angeles Superior Court: Includes definitions and descriptions of processes, referrals, and fee information.

San Francisco Superior Court ADR Programs: Includes definitions and descriptions of processes.

San Mateo County Superior Court Appropriate Dispute Resolution: Provides forms, guidelines, and referrals.

California imposes a penalty on an appealing party who seeks a trial de novo from court-annexed arbitration if the party does not improve his or her position. The penalty is limited to reimbursing the court for the arbitration fee.

Colorado Judicial Department
Office of Dispute Resolution
Cynthia Savage, Director
1301 Pennsylvania Street, Suite 110
Denver, CO 80203-2416
(303) 837-3667
(303) 837-2340 Fax
cynthia.savage@judicial.state.co.us

Office of Dispute Resolution of the 4th Judicial District

Catherine Lapollo
Dispute Resolution Program
Judicial Branch
Court Operations Division
225 Spring Street, 4th Floor
Wethersfield, CT 06109
(860) 563-9435, ext. 315
(860) 563-8134 Fax
catherine.lapollo@jud.state.ct.us

State of Connecticut Judicial Branch: This state judicial administration page contains information about Alternative Dispute Resolution/Mediation with a listing of available court-sponsored ADR programs, including arbitration.

Arbitration Proceedings (Title 52 Civil Actions, Chapter 909 Arbitration Proceedings)

The Superior Court’s ADR page includes forms, contacts, civil rules, ADR choices, and other related information.

Superior Court of the District of Columbia
Multi-Door Dispute Resolution Division
David E. Michael, Director
500 Indiana Avenue, NW, John Marshall Level
Washington, DC 20001
(202) 879-1479
(202) 879-4619 Fax
michaeld@dcsc.gov

Links to Florida ADR offices and programs from the state judicial administration page.

Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution
Leila Taafe, Esq., Director
244 Washington Street SW, Suite 423
Atlanta, GA 30334-5900
(404) 463-3788
(404) 463-3790 Fax
gaodr@mindspring.com

State ADR Office: Extensive resource on Georgia ADR statewide, including list of programs, roster, training, guidelines, ethics, long range-plan, and state statutes and rules.

U.S. District Court Middle District of Georgia Rules of Court-Annexed Arbitration

Center for Alternative Dispute Resolution
Elizabeth Kent
Ali`iolani Hale
417 South King Street, Room 207
Honolulu, HI 96813
(808) 539-4ADR (4237)
(808) 539-4416 Fax

Hawaii's Center for ADR: This site includes advantages of ADR, brochures, standards, annual report, and list of dispute resolution centers.

Hawaii Arbitration Rules

Uniform Arbitration Act (Volume 13, Chapter 658A)

Rules 25-28 of Hawaii's Arbitration Rules apply to appeals from awards and trials de novo. The party that appeals a court-annexed arbitration and improves upon the award by 30 percent or more, or does not appeal and the appealing party fails to improve the award by 30 percent, prevails. R. 25(A). Sanctions for failure to prevail in a trial de novo include reasonable costs and fees incurred (e.g., expert witness fees, travel, and deposition costs); costs of jurors; and attorneys' fees not to exceed $15,000. R. 26(B)(1)(2)(3). Sanctions for failure to participate meaningfully in arbitration hearings may include costs, expert fees, and attorneys' fees independent of any fees in R. 26 and R. 28.

Resolution Systems Institute
(formerly Center for Analysis of ADR Systems)
Susan M. Yates, Executive Director
11 East Adams Street, Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60603-6302
(312) 922-6475, ext. 45
(312) 922-6463 Fax
Yates@caadrs.org

Resolution Systems Institute: Excellent site with information about ADR in Illinois and across the country. Includes searchable database of rules, abstracted journal articles, legislation, cases, etc. The Mandatory Arbitration Overviews link provides some examples of arbitration programs in the state. The Court-Annexed Mandatory Arbitration Annual Fiscal Year Reports from 2001 through 2006 are also available.

Julia Orzeske
Director, CLE Office
Indiana Commission for Continuing Legal Education
115 W. Washington Street, Suite 1065, South Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204-3417
(317) 232-1943
(317) 232-1442 Fax
jorzeske@court.state.in.us

Indiana Rules for Alternative Dispute Resolution. Rule 3 covers arbitration.

The Commission for Continuing Legal Education: This is an Indiana Supreme Court agency that houses ADR programs as well as all other CLE/training for the state. This site contains ADR rules and a list of registered mediators.

Iowa Judicial Branch: This site includes links to explanations of ADR.

Kansas Office of Judicial Administration
Art Thompson, Dispute Resolution Coordinator
301 W. Tenth Street, Room 337
Topeka, KS 66612-1507
(785) 291-3748
(785) 291-3067 Fax
thompsona@kscourts.org 

Kansas Judicial Branch: This is the Dispute Resolution link, which contains manuals and information regarding ADR.

Kentucky Department of Justice Alternative Dispute Resolution: Link to the Supreme Court of Kentucky Web
site contains general information as well as links to arbitration rules throughout the state.

Diane E. Kenty, Esq.
Director, Court ADR Service of the State of Maine
Judicial Branch
147 New Meadows Road
West Bath, ME 04530-9704
(207) 442-0227
(207) 442-0228 Fax

State of Maine Judicial Branch, Alternative Dispute Resolution: Contains information about ADR, including FAQs and a directory of ADR neutrals on the superior court roster

Rachel Wohl
Director, Maryland Alternative Dispute Resolution Commission
120 East Chesapeake Avenue
2nd Floor, Chambers 6
Towson, MD 21286
(410) 321-2398
(410) 321-2399 Fax
rachel.wohl@courts.state.md.us

Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office (MACRO): This site contains general information about ADR, rules, commission information, contacts, press releases, final draft of the commission’s practical action plan, forms, and more.

Timothy M. Linnehan
Administrative Attorney/ADR Coordinator
Administrative Office of the Trial Courts
Two Center Plaza Room 540
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 742-8575
(617) 742-0968 Fax
linnehan_t@jud.state.ma.us

Susan Jeghelian
Director, Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution (MODR)
One Ashburnton Place, Room 501
Boston, MA 02108
Jeghelian.susan@state.ma.us

Massachusetts Office of Dispute Resolution: Provides information about MODR and lists with overviews of available services.

Doug Van Epps, Director
Office of Dispute Resolution
Michigan State Court Administrative Office
309 N. Washington Square
P.O. Box 30048
Lansing, MI 48909
(517) 373-4839
(517) 373-8922 Fax
vaneppsd@jud.state.mi.us

Michigan Courts Office of Dispute Resolution: This link of the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO) provides an overview of the role of this office as well as contact information.

Minnesota Arbitration Statute (Chapter 572 Arbitration and Award)

As of 1992, Hennepin County's program requires appellants to file within 20 days of award and pay a $100 fee. There does not appear to be any other penalty against parties who seek a trial de novo from court-annexed arbitration, regardless of court verdict. Minn. Stat. 484.73 and R. 5.01, Fourth Judicial District.

Missouri Arbitration Statute (Title 28 Contracts and Contractual Relations, Chapter 435 Arbitration - Uniform Arbitration Act)

The Nebraska Supreme Court Office of Dispute Resolution: This site contains information about the Office of Dispute Resolution, ADR training, and links to other ADR sites.

Phil Bushard (Northern Region)
Director of Court Mediation
Family Mediation Program
Courthouse
75 Court Street
Reno, NV 89501
(775) 328-3556

Nevada Arbitration Rule R. 22(A), Sanctions, states that “[t]he failure of a party or an attorney to either prosecute or defend a case in good faith during the arbitration proceedings shall constitute a waiver of the right to a trial de novo.” R.22(B) allows the district court to impose sanctions authorized by NRCP 11 or NRCP 37 on “a party or attorney engaged in conduct designed to obstruct, delay or otherwise adversely affect the arbitration proceedings” during the trial de novo. However, there does not appear to be a monetary disincentive for failure to obtain a higher award at trial.

Rules of the Superior Court of the State of New Hampshire ADR: This is a link to the rules guiding ADR in New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Arbitration Statute (Title LV Proceedings in Special Cases, Chapter 542 Arbitration of Disputes)

Marilyn C. Slivka
Manager, Special Programs Unit
Administrative Office of the Courts
Hughes Justice Complex
P.O. Box 988
Trenton, NJ 08625
(609) 984-2172
(609) 633-7142 Fax
marilyn.slivka@judiciary.state.nj.us

Tom Farrell
Coordinator
CDR Program Operations
Administrative Office of the Courts
Hughes Justice Complex
P.O. Box 988
Trenton, NJ 08625
(609) 984-2337
(609) 633-7142 Fax
thomas.farrell@judiciary.state.nj.us

The Court Services Division offers "complementary dispute resolution," or CDR, which is akin to ADR. Site describes programs, contacts, structure, definitions, and bar involvement information.

New Jersey law permits a penalty against parties who seek a trial de novo from court-annexed arbitration, including paying the other party's legal fees.

Justice Building
2 West Morgan Street
Raleigh, NC 27601-1400 Office Address

Alternative Dispute Resolution in North Dakota: Web site for the Supreme Court of North Dakota includes link
to a statewide ADR neutral roster.

Supreme Court Dispute Resolution Office: This site contains links to the Supreme Court Committee on
Dispute Resolution; information about meetings, training, and special events; rules and legislation; contacts; models of funding for Ohio DR programs; reports; and project descriptions. Very comprehensive site, useful for researchers, courts, and the general public.

Marion County Court Arbitration Office: An example of a court-annexed arbitration along with listings of panels
of arbiters.

Anne Panfil
Criminal Procedural Rules Committee
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
(717) 795-2100
(717) 795-2106 Fax
Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition Program
criminal.rules@supreme.court.state.pa.us

Pennsylvania Arbitration Statute (Civil Rules of Procedure 1301-1314 Compulsory Arbitration)

Compulsory Arbitration Center

Parties who seek a trial de novo from court-annexed arbitration must reimburse the court for the arbitrator's fees. In Lackawanna County, cases worth $30,000 or more are referred to arbitration automatically. For these cases, there is a $300 fee to file an appeal pursuant to local rule.

Rhode Island Arbitration Statute (Title 10 Courts and Civil Procedure - Procedure in Particular Actions, Chapters 10-3)

The South Carolina Bar has added a Public Services Counsel to its staff to assist the Supreme Court’s Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution (Commission) and Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification (Board) with the administration of court-annexed ADR programs in the current pilot counties, and ultimately in all counties, in South Carolina. Their Web site includes forms, training requirements, rules, FAQs, and links.

South Dakota Arbitration Statute (Title 21 Judicial Remedies, Chapter 25A Enforcement of Arbitration Agreements)

Jan Summer
Executive Director
Center for Public Policy on Dispute Resolution
University of Texas School of Law
727 E. Dean Keeton Street
TNH, Room 4.124
Austin, TX 78705
(512) 471-3507
(512) 232-1191 Fax
jsummer@mail.law.utexas.edu

Court-Annexed Arbitration

R. 16, Mandatory Arbitration

R.C.P. 40, Assignment of Cases for Trial or Alternative Dispute Resolution