Arbitration

We represent parties in arbitration under contract clauses and in the court-annexed arbitration the circuit courts require for smaller civil cases.

We write and review arbitration clauses, help select the arbitrator, and prepare and present the case at the hearing. After the award we ask the court to confirm it as a judgment or to vacate it. In court-annexed arbitration a party may ask for a trial in circuit court after the award, and we handle that request and the trial.

Brent H. Smith serves as a court-appointed arbitrator in Eastern Oregon counties.

Services we provide

• Hearings under contract clauses
• Court-annexed arbitration
• Confirming or vacating an award
• Service as a court-appointed arbitrator

Statutes and rules

• ORS 36.600 to 36.740, Uniform Arbitration Actthe agreement to arbitrate, the arbitrator, the hearing, the award, and the narrow grounds on which a court may vacate it.
• ORS 36.400 to 36.425, Court-annexed arbitrationmandatory arbitration of circuit court cases for money damages of $50,000 or less, and the right to a trial after the award.
• UTCR chapter 13, Arbitrationthe court rules for court-annexed arbitration: the arbitrator's appointment, the hearing and the award.
• Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 and followingenforces an arbitration clause in a contract that affects interstate commerce.

Resources

• Arbitration Service of Portlandthe private arbitration service most often named in Oregon contract clauses.