What is Mandatory Arbitration?


Mandatory arbitration is arbitration under Washington’s Superior Court rules to allow a quicker resolution of those cases where the only thing sought is money damages of $50,000 or less. The upside is speed, but they are easier to appeal than traditional arbitration. This leads to the second upside, which is that if your opponent appeals the arbitration award but fails to improve their position at the following jury trial, you can be awarded the legal fees and costs it took to go to trial. This can be a strong incentive to encourage insurance companies to stop delaying payments that are owed to injury victims rather than face the risk of a much larger payment after trial.

Disclaimer

None of the information on this web site is legal advice, and you are not a client of Ahrend Albrecht unless you have a written fee agreement. Descriptions of results obtained are accurate, but are not meant as a promise or guarantee of results in any particular case, because there can be no such guarantee. Litigation always involves risk.