AAA Revises Construction Arbitration Rules | Practical Law

AAA Revises Construction Arbitration Rules | Practical Law

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has revised its Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, effective July 1, 2015.

AAA Revises Construction Arbitration Rules

Practical Law Legal Update w-000-4524 (Approx. 3 pages)

AAA Revises Construction Arbitration Rules

by Practical Law Arbitration
Law stated as of 02 Jul 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has revised its Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures, effective July 1, 2015.
Effective July 1, 2015, the American Arbitration Association (AAA) has implemented revised Construction Industry Arbitration Rules and Mediation Procedures. The revised rules will apply to any demand for arbitration or submission agreement filed on or after July 1, 2015.
Based on input from the AAA's National Construction Dispute Resolution Committee, the rule revisions are designed to streamline complex cases and lend additional structure to the proceedings. Highlights of the revised rules include:
  • Rules on obtaining emergency measures of protection for contracts dated on or after July 1, 2015.
  • New rules on the timeframes for consolidation of claims and joinder of parties.
  • Broader authority of the panel to issue sanctions and enforce orders.
  • New preliminary hearing rules to help structure the case.
  • A new rule permitting dispositive motions.
  • A new rule inserting a mediation step in all cases with claims of $100,000 or more (from which any party may opt out).
The revised rules continue to have the same four procedural tracks that have been in effect for construction disputes, with some changes. These tracks are:
  • Procedures for large, complex construction disputes (for claims over $1,000,000).
  • Procedures for the resolution of disputes through document submission only (the presumptive track for claims of $25,000 or less).
  • Fast track procedures (now for claims of $100,000 or less).
  • Regular track procedures (now including a mediation step).
The revised AAA fee schedules for commercial, construction, employment and healthcare arbitration rules and mediation procedures (effective July 1, 2015) reflect new rates but continue to provide for either a standard fee (payable in two payments) or a flexible fee schedule (payable in three payments with a lower initial filing fee).