Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C. (MWL) represents many clients on the enforcement of unpaid arbitration awards for claims submitted to both Arbitration Forums and to general arbitration. The use of arbitration as a means of resolution of property damage claims has continued to increase amongst insurers on both the prosecution and the defense of property damage disputes. This is true for both automobile and property subrogation. While submitting claims to arbitration may provide a quicker resolution to disputes, it can also lead to issues recovering the money that has been awarded.
We continue to see an increase in the number of cases that are successful at arbitration but remain unpaid months after the arbitrator makes an affirmative decision in our client’s favor. The reasons an award remain unpaid vary from a disagreement with the decision, simply forgetting to pay, or a file is not transferred to a new adjuster after the previous adjuster has left the company or been assigned a new position. Regardless of the reasoning behind an award not being paid, there are procedural processes in place which help ensure that awards are paid. Additionally, once the procedure is implemented, attorney’s fees are recoverable.
MWL has been successful in the recovery of both the unpaid awards and the attorney’s fees expended in enforcing the awards on hundreds of cases. If you have an arbitration award that remains unpaid, MWL is here to help you understand the process used to ensure you are paid what has been awarded. Mark Solomon, the managing partner of our Austin, Texas branch, has spearheaded the firm’s handling of the recovery of unpaid arbitration awards. His previous experience working as in-house counsel for a major insurer who handled thousands of arbitration claims a month makes him our go-to attorney for direction on how best to make sure that our clients recover what is owed, and that any attorney’s fees expended are reimbursed as well.
In addition to arbitration award enforcement, MWL has been employed to assist clients in drafting contentions, reviewing our client’s contentions, and appearing at arbitration hearings. This procedure has helped our clients increase the quality of their contentions and the recovery rates for cases handled in Arbitration Forums.
If you have an award that is unpaid or you would like to increase your recoveries in arbitration, MWL can assist you in recovering what is owed on an arbitration award.
