State Legislative Update

The purpose of this Bill is to provide an alternative approach for individuals with a cause of action against a municipality.' Rather than the costly and time-consuming traditional method of hiring an attorney and filing a lawsuit, House Bill 2631 offers individuals an opportunity for Alternative Dispute Resolution ("ADR") in the form of arbitration. The Bill would allow any individual with a claim in contract or tort against a municipality to require the municipality to submit to the arbitration of the claim. The purpose of House Bill 2631 is to facilitate the resolution of individual claims against a city. However, a fundamental principle of arbitration is that it is a matter of contract, and no party should be forced into the arbitration of a claim which they have not agreed to arbitrate.