Originally from Dispute Resolution Journal

Preview Page

Purpose and Areas of Examination

The writer hopes to examine the applicability and utility of the judicial tool of res judicata to commercial and uninsured motorist arbitration awards. Although certain aspects cf this doctrine have previously been analyzed, this study goes on to discuss several aspects of res judicata which may create both present and future possibilities for increasing the effectiveness of arbitration. Also, those areas of dispute settlement process which hinder attempts to prevent relitigation and create the problem of inconsistent awards are examined.

The doctrine's potential usefulness to arbitration is presented by focusing on the party against whom res judicata is being asserted. Was he the same party who participated in an earlier arbitration on the same issue(s) ? Is this party in privity or derivatively liable to a participant in an earlier proceeding? May the use of res judicata in arbitration be the spearhead to destroy the corporate veil of limited liability?