You are here:

Arbitration/Mediation/Software Maintenance Agreement

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/14/2007


Question
Hello Paul - Thank you for your service here.

I am a VERY small software developer who has a small but much larger customer. We have an agreement that they will prepay $3000/year for service. This was done just to keep the door open between us. I actually did about $8000/yr in services and they unilaterally cancelled the agreement with 2 years remaining. The agreement calls for 'Streamlined Arbitration Rules' and that we follow AAA rules but doesn't say we need to use AAA unless we can't agree on an arbitrator. They can afford legal advice. I cannot but I do REALLY need the lost income.

Do you think this may be worth pursuing with arbitration or is this smaller than what may be reasonable? Based on what I've read online, I'm not sure what the costs are.

Thanks for your advice.

Answer
Jeff,

This is exactly the type of case which is suited for Arbitration.  Arbitrations are inexpensive, expedient and you generally do not need to hire an attorney if you are using AAA.  You are in essence talking about $72,000 and it would be my recommendation that you have nothing to lose if you believe they breached the contract.  The costs should be less than $5,000 but you should contact AAA and ask them for their fee schedule.

Very truly yours,

Paul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D.

Arbitration/Mediation

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Paul D. Friedman, M.A., Ph.D., J.D.

Expertise

I am a licensed attorney and Judge Pro Tempore who has conducted and been involved in hundreds of mediations and thousands of arbitrations. I can answer questions regarding settlement conferences, mediations or arbitrations. I do not give legal advice over the internet and it would be helpful to list your location such as country or state.

For more information, you can view my website at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM

Experience

I am a licensed attorney, Judge Pro Tempore and adjunct professor.

Experience in the area
I have been a licensed attorney since 1989 and a Judge Pro Tempore since 2005. Additionally, I have a masters degree in bioethics and a doctorate of philosophy regarding comparative ethics

Organizations
State Bar of Arizona
State Bar of Colorado (inactive)
District of Columbia Bar (inactive)
Federal Bar
Licensed in Arizona District Court
Licensed in Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Licensed in the United States Supreme Court
American Bar Association
National Board of Trial Advocacy
American Association for Justice
Arizona Trial Lawyers Association
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
Kennedy Institute of Ethics
National Association of Realtors

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Arts 1985
Juris Doctorate 1989
Master of Arts in Bioethics 2004
Doctorate of Philosphy 2006

Awards and Honors
Phi Beta Kappa
Multiple Who's Who

Publications
A list of my copyrighted publications and presentations is contained at WWW.EXPERTETHICS.COM

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.