Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

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A Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel grilled parties over the need to disclose the specifics of the business relationship between an arbitrator and the alternative dispute resolution provider that lists the neutral’s services.

The context was a contested arbitration award where a Washington state beverage distributor alleged that the arbitrator and provider had a long-running relationship with adversary Monster Energy, a national soft drink manufacturer based in Corona, Calif.

The focus is on the repeat-player phenomenon in which providers participate in multiple matters featuring one of the arbitration parties. And the result could be a commercial case requirement similar to consumer arbitration disclosure.