More on Arbitration Agreements and Awards

On Ohio Court of Appeals has just held that if you sign a contract that has an arbitration provision (i.e. where the parties agree that all disputes under the contract must be arbitrated rather than litigated in a courtroom by a judge or jury), and, further, if the arbitrator issues a arbitration judgment against you, a court must ratify/confirm that judgment if the winning party applies to have the court do so. In NCO v. Reese, the court held that a trial court had erred when it failed to ratify/confirm an arbitration ruling, and that the trial court in fact HAS to ratify/confirm the arbitration ruling UNLESS the losing party can prove one of VERY limited number of factors. Thought: Be very careful about signing any contract containing an arbitration clause - you may be waving many of the rights you would otherwise have in a courtroom.