January 21, 2009

MEMORANDUM

TO: Students in LIR 865, Arbitration and Alternate Dispute Resolution, Spring, 2009

FROM:Rich Block, Instructor

SUBJECT: Arbitration Case Assignments

I have divided the class into six groups, five groups of 2 and one group of 3. Each group will be assigned three arbitration cases: one case to be presented as the union, one case to be presented as the employer/management, and one case for which the group will write a mock arbitration award based on the presentation by the union and management group. Thus, each student will have the opportunity to see all three sides of the arbitration process. The cases that will be used are cases that I have heard and on which I have issued awards. Three of the cases involve discharge (the most common issue in arbitration) and three involve different contract interpretation issues.

Case Presentation

For each case that the group will present as management and union, I have provided each team with the documentation I received from each case, including a complete transcript of the hearing, all exhibits, and the text of the contract language in dispute; therefore, each party for each case has the same documentation. Each group will have three responsibilities: (1) work through the documentation to discover the essence of the case; (2) determine the points each group wants to emphasize to the arbitrators; (3) determine the other party’s case; (4) present your case to the arbitrators and class; (5) address/rebut the points you presume the other party will make; and (6) provide a written closing argument of no more than 5 double-spaced pages, that summarizes your case and rebuts the other party’s case. The case presentation will generally run from approximately 7:10 PM – 8:50 PM. A typical presentation schedule will look something like the following,

Event / Minutes / Total
Presentation of Agreed Upon Joint Exhibits to arbitrators and class (to be agreed upon by parties prior to presentation) / 5
First Party’s Opening Statement / 7 / 12
Second Party’s Opening Statement / 7 / 19
First Party’s Case / 15 / 34
Break for Second Party Team Meeting / 5 / 39
Second Party’s Case / 25 / 64
Break For First Party Team Meeting / 5 / 69
First Party’s Response / 10 / 79
Questions from arbitrators and class / 15 / 94

The written closing argument is due to the arbitrators, with a copy to me, no later than 3:00 PM on the Friday after your presentation.

Arbitration Awards

Your group will have one week from receipt of the closing arguments to write a short arbitration award. You might want to read some arbitration awards on bna.com to obtain a sense of how such awards are written. The award should be submitted to me.

You have three options in the award: (1) grievance sustained in full – union wins; (2) grievance denied in full – employer wins; or (3) grievance sustained in part and denied in part – split decision. If your decision is grievance sustained in whole or in part, you must fashion a remedy. The remedy must follow directly from your award.

Your award will be shorter than a normal arbitration award. I recommend it follow the following format:

  1. Case Identification (names of parties);
  2. Issue/Question to be decided;

3. Important Facts (2-3 pages);

4. Summary of parties’ arguments from opening statements and briefs (2 pages);

5. Award with rationale stating: (1) why you found the prevailing party’s arguments convincing and (2) why you were not convinced by the losing party’s arguments; or (3) why you “split” the decision (4-5 pages)

6. Award and remedy (1 sentence to 1 page).

The relevant contract language should be attached to your award.

Ideally, all the members of the team will agree on an award. If the team members disagree, each member may write a separate award. Each group will be asked to make a short presentation in the class explaining the award.

RNB/

1