Originally from:

Journal of American Arbitration (JAA) - Vol. 3, No. 2

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ARTICLES

The Alabama Supreme Court Rejects State
Statute that Arbitrators Must be Licensed
Attorneys in Bowater Inc. v. Zager.
By Michelle C. Purchner
 

I. OVERVIEW
Lisa Zager, Page Hart, Joyce Marie Eidson, and HDL Land
Company (Lessors) entered into a sixty-six year timber lease with
Bowater Incorporated (Bowater or Lessee) that was executed on June 1,
1965.1 The dispute between the two parties involved the issue as to
whether all of the property, or only portions of the property, owned by
the Lessors was covered by the lease.2 The Lessors owned real property
located in six Alabama counties and Bowater claimed rights of entry
over the entire property.3 The Lessors alleged that Bowater trespassed
and illegally removed timber from property that was not covered under
the lease.4
The lease contained an arbitration clause that stated “‘[i]n the event
the parties are unable to agree with respect to any issue of fact arising
under this lease in regard to their rights, duties, and liabilities hereunder,