A Demand v. Submission
Learn about Alternative Dispute Resolution
There are usually two ways to “get to” ADR to avoid court, both ways are by consent. If the parties do not consent to alternative dispute resolution, the parties must unfortunately use the judicial system.
The first method is the “before the fact” (“before the dispute”) method, by putting a statement in your contract, such as:
Any claim or controversy arising out of, or relating to, or in connection with this agreement shall be confidentially settled by arbitration administered by All Digital Resolutions under its ADR Rules, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
When the parties agree to the above clause, they are agreeing and consenting, in advance, to use ADR to settle the dispute. When a dispute occurs later, either party has a right to file a “Demand” for resolution at ADR. The filing is called a “Arbitration Demand.”
The second way is for resolving a dispute when the contract or other claim at issue was not agreed to or otherwise consented to prior to the dispute. This is the “after the fact” (“after the dispute”) method, but agreeing to resolve the matter at ADR. This method can be used even if the contract had a different arbitration or dispute method, provided that all parties to the agreement and any joined parties consent. For this, a statement, such as:
We, the undersigned, hereby agree to submit the claim or controversy stated below, and all matters arising out of or related thereto, to arbitration administered by All Digital Resolutions under its ADR Rules, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The claim or controversy is described as follows: {describe controversy or attach the document, e.g., “Attached Agreement of Sale, Exhibit A.”}.
The filing of this statement is a “Arbitration Submission.”
Notice that the name of the filing immediately discloses whether someone is being compelled into the arbitration by a prior agreement (Arbitration Demand), or whether the parties have stipulated after-the-fact (Arbitration Submission). Demands and Submissions can also apply to mediations, but usually mediations are naturally by submission.