Where the requirement comes from
Some courts send smaller money claims to a court-annexed arbitration program before trial. In New York's program of this kind, a party who is unhappy with the award can generally ask for a new trial in court, although that request has a deadline. State law also sends some disputes to arbitration by statute, such as unresolved contract negotiations involving certain public-sector employees like police officers and firefighters. Most people, though, encounter compulsory arbitration through a pre-dispute clause in a consumer, employment, or business contract, which usually produces a binding award with very limited review.
Figuring out which applies
Look at the paper that sent you to arbitration. A court order or notice referring the case to an arbitration panel points to a court program, while a demand from an arbitration provider or a letter citing your contract points to a contractual clause. Find the agreement itself, including the version in effect when you signed, and note the provider it names and the rules it adopts. Keep every notice, because deadlines in arbitration and in court programs can be short and are often strictly applied. Some claims cannot be forced into arbitration by a pre-dispute clause; federal law, for instance, lets people bringing sexual harassment or sexual assault claims choose court.
After the award
In a non-binding program, the decision to accept the award or seek a new trial is a practical one, weighing the result against the cost and risk of starting over. A binding contractual award is much harder to undo; courts set one aside only on narrow grounds that mostly concern the integrity of the process or an arbitrator acting beyond the authority given, and generally not because the arbitrator got the facts or the law wrong. The party holding a favorable award usually needs to have it confirmed by a court to enforce it, and the losing party has a limited time to challenge it. Our first task with you is to pin down which kind of arbitration you are in and what decisions are coming next.
