American Arbitration Assn. will soon require registration

American Arbitration Assn. will soon require registration

Starting September 1, the American Arbitration Association (the other AAA) will require any business that wants the AAA to administer its consumer arbitrations to register. That means registering the businessês consumer arbitration clause with the AAAês new Consumer Clause Registry.

AAA developed the Registry to provide public access to information about the AAAês consumer arbitration services. The Registry will provide a list of businesses with arbitration clauses that the AAA has determined comply with its standards.

Interested dealers must submit their arbitration clauses with the consumer review and registration fee ($650 in the initial year and $500 in subsequent years).

Under the AAA Consumer Due Process Protocol, agreements to arbitrate require that consumers be given:

(1) Clear notice of the arbitration provision and its consequences, and information about whether it is voluntary or mandatory.

(2) Reasonable access to information about the arbitration process, including basic distinctions between arbitration and court proceedings, related costs and advice about where to get more information.

(3) Notice of the option to use small claims court procedures as an alternative to binding arbitration as appropriate.

(4) A clear statement of how the consumer may submit disputes to arbitration or to court.

The AAA suggests putting the arbitration notice in a prominent place. For more information, go to www.adr.org.

Thanks to Michael Charapp of Charapp & Weiss LLP for providing this information.