Definitions 


Action - is any process by which a party may request a court to make a decision in law or equity, and may or may not involve adverse parties. Also referred to as: "Law suit" or "Petition".

Arbitration - is the process by which one or more neutral persons, after examining facts of a dispute, produces a decision for the disputing parties as a solution to their dispute. The decision is in writing and is normally (upon prior agreement) binding/enforceable upon each of the disputing parties; but, may have been agreed upon to be non-binding (advisory). 

Argument - as related to a hearing, is that expression to the arbitrator, mediator, judge or other hearing officer, the nature of which is to evaluate evidence and interpret law. It does not meet the standard of evidence to prove a fact.

Award - is the decision of arbitrators. Awards are made in writing and are normally enforceable in court under state and federal statutes, through actions (law suits), when necessary, brought by one or more of the parties to the arbitration.

Caucuses - are meetings in which a mediator talks with the parties individually to discuss the issues.

Claimants - are the first filing parties, also known as plaintiffs.

Counterclaims = are claims made by a respondent/defendant in his or her favor against a claimant. They are not mere answers or denials of the claimant’s allegations, as they seek affirmative relief, or at least offset.

Demands for Arbitration -  are unilateral (by one party) filings of claims in arbitration, based on a contractual or statutory right; also, the written form used to make that demand.

Evidence - is that which is offered for examination to the arbitrator, Mediator, Judge or other hearing officer, from which examination the hearing officer is to make a determination of proof of the truth or existence of that fact or thing, or by inference another fact or thing.

Hearing - is a proceeding in which argument and evidence is taken for the purpose of determining facts of a dispute and reaching a decision based on evidence.

Mediation - is a process in which a neutral assists the parties in reaching their own settlement but does not have the authority to make a binding decision for those parties.

Mediation-arbitration (med-arb) - a process by which a neutral person selected to serve as both mediator and arbitrator in a dispute. It combines the voluntary techniques of persuasion, as in mediation, with an arbitrator’s authority to issue a final and binding decision, when necessary.

Mini-trial is a confidential, nonbinding exchange of information, intended to aid settlement. The goal of mini-trial is to encourage timely, cost-effective resolution of complex litigation. Mini-trial seeks to narrow the areas of controversy, dispose of collateral, diversionary, immaterial and meaningless issues, and encourage a fair and equitable settlement.

Negotiation - is a process in which disputants communicate their differences to one another, directly or through agents, representatives or attorneys, and with this knowledge try to resolve their dispute.

Party is a disputant - A plaintiff, defendant, petitioner or respondent is a party. A party may be a singular individual, or a designated group of individuals; grouped for the purpose of mutually making a claim. A party does not have to be a real person. It can be a corporation, trust, partnership (as opposed to the individual partners acting on their own).

Respondents - are responding parties, also known as defendants.