The National Center for State Courts released a study this year estimating the litigation costs of various types of civil cases in the U.S.. The model used to estimate costs relied on survey results from attorneys of the time expended to resolve typical types of disputes litigated and their billing rates. The graph below presents the median costs of litigation by case type in the U.S.:
Median Costs of Litigation by Case Type
The European Parliament adopted two key legislative measures regarding the resolution of consumer disputes in Europe. A new regulation mandates that all businesses selling goods or services to consumers online in any European Union member state, excluding those in the health and education sectors, make available a link to a EU-wide online platform that will be set up to handle consumer disputes.
The directive requires all EU member states to implement the Online Dispute Resolution initiative within 2 years of the regulation’s entry into force. The directive applies to any purchase made domestically or across EU borders.
The official press release can be seen below.
European Commission
MEMO
Brussels, 12 March 2013
A step forward for EU consumers: Commissioner Tonio Borg welcomes adoption of Out-of-court Dispute Resolution
Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, Tonio Borg, welcomed the vote of the European Parliament on Alternative Dispute Resolution and Online Dispute Resolution (ADR-ODR) today. This vote confirms the agreement on the two proposals put forward by the European Commission in 2011.
Tonio Borg said: “Today, the European Parliament confirmed its agreement on two key proposals for boosting growth in the Single Market and strengthening the Digital economy. ADR and ODR are a win-win for consumers, who will be able to resolve their disputes out-of-court in a simple, fast and low-cost manner, and also for traders who will be able to keep good relations with customers and avoid litigation costs. It must be stressed that the EU institutions achieved a fast agreement which will significantly improve everyday life for consumers across Europe”.
He also added: “I want to take this opportunity to thank the rapporteurs of the two proposals at the European Parliament, Louis Grech and Róża Thun, for their commitment to reach an agreement. I am also grateful to the Member States and the Presidencies of the Council for their intensive work on these files. This is a truly inter-institutional achievement to boost consumers’ and traders’ confidence in the internal market and its digital dimension.”
The rules on ADR will ensure that consumers can turn to quality alternative dispute resolution entities for all kinds of contractual disputes that they have with traders; no matter what they purchased1 and whether they purchased it online or offline, domestically or across borders.
According to the ODR Regulation, an EU-wide online platform will be set up for handling consumer disputes that arise from online transactions. The platform will link all the national alternative dispute resolution entities and operate in all official EU languages.
Raising consumers’ awareness is another pillar of this legislation, as traders will need to provide consumers with adequate information on ADR and ODR.
Member States will have two years to implement the ADR/ODR rules. The ODR platform will be operational at the end of 2015.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/redress_cons/adr_en.htm
Source: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-13-192_en.htm?locale=en
Everything you always wanted to know about eQuibbly – download it by clicking on this link or view it below:
TOP THREE DISPUTE RESOLUTION STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED LAST WEEK:
There’s More to Mediation Than Meets the Eye. Some trial lawyers look down at mediation as a sign of weakness and lack of confidence in one’s case. However, after experiencing mediations as both a trial lawyer and a mediator, there is more to a mediation than initially meets the eye… Mediation offers an opportunity to get answers to questions and to fashion a resolution to a case that a victory in court will not provide… ADR Times. Read More
Calling in a Mediator Helps Solve Workplace Conflicts. Sometimes it works out quickly, fairly easily and amicably. Other times, it requires multiple meetings, but either way mediation – especially when it’s started early on during an obvious workplace conflict – can go a long way to resolving the problem… Leaderpost. Read More
The Battle between Google and BT May End in Mediation. Google itself has said in a statement that it “always [sees] litigation as a last resort” and is defending itself against both the 2011 suit and BT’s “arming [of] patent trolls”, which a source said was a reference to a little-reported case last year involving a non-practising entity called Suffolk Technologies… Gigaom. Read More
Brought to you by eQuibbly
eQuibbly.com is a free web app created to help people and companies resolve their disputes quickly and fairly online.
We have already discussed how Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) can be a unique and effective way to solve many types of conflict. Most conflict in our lives result from small disagreements and miscommunications with friends, family, neighbors and business associates. If left unchecked, they have the potential to grow into the larger and more serious issues that may require professional help from a trained mediator or arbitrator.
eQuibbly offers solution alternatives for both the less serious disputes as well as the more serious issues. To resolve the former type of dispute, eQuibbly encourages you to post your dispute in public so you can ‘crowdsource’ help from strangers. Often the best advice comes from strangers – people who don’t know you and don’t really care whether you take their advice or not. This is true for a number of reasons.
Strangers are not personally invested in your dispute. Although soliciting opinions from friends and family members can certainly be valuable, it is much more likely, consciously or not, that they will be influenced by factors other than the merits of the argument. People who are intimately familiar with the conflict or the disputing parties are likely to have pre-existing biases or shared personal relationships which will no doubt influence their suggestions and opinions.
When offering advice, rather than being biased by irrelevant factors such as how what they say might affect their relationship with one of the parties, strangers will draw on their own experiences with similar situations. This can be helpful since it provides an opportunity to learn from someone else’s mistakes and successes.
The disputing parties also will be more likely to heed strangers’ advice since those strangers have nothing to gain and nothing to lose – they have no dog in the fight. Often people in the midst of a disagreement will lose sight of the facts and the merits and become mired in a battle of wits and egos. It’s no longer whether one side is right or wrong – it’s whether one side can out-smart the other or whether they can be more persuasive. No matter what the ultimate cause of a conflict, at some point it can become difficult to admit defeat or agree to a compromise without a crushing blow to the ego. If a dispute reaches this stage, it is a lot easier taking the same advice from a stranger than your adversary.
Posting a public non-binding dispute on eQuibbly is an efficient and effective way to solicit advice from strangers and arrive at a mutually satisfactory resolution to your dispute, or at least one that is fair.
As the year draws to a close and the holiday season is upon us, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support.
We’ve seen many disputes resolved, wonderfully helpful suggestions made and some very strong opinions posted! It has been a fantastic year.
Keep in mind that we’re here to help should you need us during this season of family gatherings and, hopefully minor, disagreements.
Have a wonderful holiday and a happy and healthy new year.
Lance Soskin
President
eQuibbly
