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Detailed Arbitration Pleadings

Wednesday, January 14, 2026 9:37 AM | Anonymous

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If a Claimant chooses to file a detailed pleading instead of simply submitting a Demand Form, to what extent should the Claimant be held to any deficiencies in that pleading?  For example, if the Claimant pleads certain factual averments but, even if taken as true, they do not rise to the level of a claim, is that an appropriate basis for an arbitrator to dismiss the claim upon the Respondent’s motion?

What are your thoughts?


Comments

  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 2:27 PM | Robert L. Arrington
    In light of the bare-boned arbitral pleading rules, I don't think so. If the arbitration agreement imposes something more elaborate, that might make a difference.
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 2:38 PM | MICHAEL LAMPERT
    Most judicial systems require there be at least one opportunity to amend absent clear futility. In light of the lesser standards for pleading in some domestic arbitration systems' one would expect a similar opportunity to amend. The result may differ where rules require more detailed pleadings, as in LCIA and ICCC
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    • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 2:41 PM | Jill Okun
      I would entertain such a motion but the claimant can oppose and may well be given an opportunity to amend the demand,
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 2:44 PM | Stuart Riback
    In most cases, no. Maybe yes if the facts as alleged disclose that the claim is time-barred, or barred by res judicata, or something like that -- but otherwise, the information in the claim document is just the first step in the door of the process. The claimant may well have more than s/he puts in the claim document.
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 2:53 PM | Rick Flake
    While I agree with the made comments so far, remember also that under many (most?) AAA arbitration rules, the arbitrator may grant any remedy the arbitrator deems "just and equitable" and within the scope of the agreement. Note that the word "legal" is conspicuously absent. While most arbitrators at this point are lawyers, whose experiences are shaped by legal analysis and procedure etc., do not forget the possibility of equitable relief, which is specifically contemplated by the rules.
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 3:20 PM | Pete Michaelson
    The demand should, like Court pleadings, focus the issues in dispute. There is no reason to make the Respondent guess what the issues are; especially when most arbitrations try and avoid dispositive motions practice (especially in consumer cases). I think the Arbitrator should try and make certain nobody is wasting time chasing claims or defenses - especially during the hearing. Accordingly, I would address the detailed demand at the preliminary hearing, and make certain what issues remain at trial by conducting a trial management conference before the hearing.
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 4:33 PM | Dustin Hecker
    As an advocate, I always wanted to provide the arbitrator with a memorandum rather than a formal pleading to explain the claim or, as respondent, the defense. I am surprised more attorneys do not use the first document the arbitrator will review in detail as an opportunity to argue the case and instead mechanically submit a complaint with numbered paragraphs etc., etc. I will rarely enforce on the respondent the obligation to respond to detailed litigation-like complaint on a point by point basis. That is not required by the rules and with rare exceptions is a huge waste of time and money. On the broader question what I would do with a detailed pleading that seems not to state a legal claim, the answer is nothing if the respondent does not make a request to file a motion to dismiss. And if it does I would be unlikely other than with something simple like a statute of limitations defense to allow the filing of such a motion so early in the case. (It is a different story if both parties agree the motion to dismiss would, if decided one way or the other, materially change the scope of discovery or the hearing. I am happy to decide such an early motion if both counsel agree it is the right thing to do.) Dispositive motions are and should be disfavored in arbitrations. Motions based on "pleading defects" rather than failures of proof strike me as moving too far from the goal of simplifying the dispute resolution process.
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 5:27 PM | Judge Gerald Harris
    I see no reason to depart from the time honored effect of Rule 33 which requires that a party seeking to make a dispositive motion must first submit a letter detailing how such a motion would likely dispose of the matter entirely or narrow the issues to be resolved. Claimant would have an opportunity to respond and it is on the basis of that exchange, and not any insufficiency in the initial pleading that the arbitrator should rely upon in determining whether a motion is in order.
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 9:16 PM | Michael Starr
    No. I guess that I am old-fashioned: arbitrators are not judges, and they cannot dismiss claims for deficiencies in the pleading. They can only make an award based on evidence; an award not based on evidence (at least some evidence) is vulnerable to vacatur. The evidence need not come in as testimony at a hearing; affidavits can be enough. But there must be evidence, not just a "gap" in the statement of claim. And, also, if the arbitrator permits a dispositive motion, it is possible that the claimant will actually aver to facts that fill in what is missing in the lawyer's pleading. Claimants should always be given that opportunity. Lastly, if all that is necessary for a hearing is a demand for arbitration, how can a claimant be worse of by supplementing that demand with a more detailed specification of the facts (as the claimant sees it)?
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    • Saturday, January 17, 2026 11:28 AM | GBH
      More power to your (gavel wielding?) arm.

      (Does anyone have a gavel nowadays?)
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  • Wednesday, January 14, 2026 10:28 PM | Sigmund Schutz
    How is it more efficient to force parties to go through discovery and a hearing if the claim is obviously deficient? The claimant can always ask to amend or ask for discovery, and should if that’s what’s needed, but if there is some threshold defect in the claim (accepting plaintiff’s allegations as true) it makes no sense to delay addressing it early in the process if a party so requests.
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  • Thursday, January 15, 2026 8:34 AM | Charles Atwell
    I certainly don’t impose. The pleading requirements typically used in a court of general jurisdiction. However, often times in status conferences in the like I flush out some details so I can educate myself.
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  • Thursday, January 15, 2026 9:21 AM | Tim Gibbons
    First, I'm surprised to see even many experienced attorneys filing detailed, pleading-style demands. It's unnecessary, but if they elect to do that, seems to me it's fair game for the Respondent to attempt some sort of motion. But, as others have noted, if such a motion is in some sense dispositive, the Respondent would first have to seek permission and give strong reasons for doing so. Bottom line, I'm not a fan of litigation-style procedures showing in arbitration, so I'd likely require some very strong rationale for allowing a motion.
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  • Thursday, January 15, 2026 11:16 AM | Tom Levak
    A detailed pleading subjects the pleading party to to ordinary responses, from demurrer, motion or detailed answer. “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
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  • Friday, January 16, 2026 12:04 PM | Marc Elliott
    In light of the goal of arbitration to provide an alternative mode of dispute resolution that is different from litigation, I would never dismiss an opening pleading, detailed or not, unless there was a clear cut insurmountable answer bar to the claim, such as a clear cut failure to file within the statute of limitations.
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  • Friday, January 16, 2026 1:08 PM | Edwin H. Stern
    As with everything else, it depends on the totality of circumstances. A counselled commercial agreement may have provisions regarding pleadings; on the other hand, there are consumer cases, and particularly pro se cases, that run the gamut from great detail (now with AI) to little detail. I generally allow amended pleadings and demands (and responses) to achieve a fair result, depending upon when requested along the way, the position of the parties and any perceived prejudice.
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  • Friday, January 16, 2026 6:30 PM | Peter Neumann
    I typically allow the parties the opportunity to amend and/or supplement their claims/counterclaims within a reasonable time limit. If Claimant either declines to amend, or if they amend, I would consider Respondent's request for leave to file a dispositive motion attacking the sufficiency of "definitive" pleadings.
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  • Saturday, January 17, 2026 11:22 AM | Geoffrey BH
    I think an arbitration agreement necessarily implies that it becomes an arbitrator's duty to be fair - Justice as Fairness. His or her duty is also to hear the matter.
    The immediate matter when the Respondent seeks dismissal is to hear both. If a Claimant has no plausible grounds for a claim - ask him what is his or her justification. If there is no prima facie case and both have had their say, you've heard the matter and should decide.
    Pleadings? Schmeedings; this isn't the Court with mighty power ; the Arbitrator has no real authority. Words are all we have.
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