HELPFUL TIPS FOR COMPLAINANTS AND RESPONDENTS

• Complainants and Respondents usually know long before the closing that there is a problem and that the case may end up in an arbitration.
• The time to begin preparing for arbitration is when you first know there is a problem.
• How do you do that?
• Make sure you have a complete chronology of events in as great detail as possible.
• As a broker, you should have your agent involved in the transaction make notes.
• Go through the records.
• Decide what original documents are important to your case or defense----this is to be done long before a complaint is filed.
• Put all of the documents in a file and put the file in a safe place.
• Decide who are the witnesses----who are the people with information that is important to your case or defense.
• Make a list of witnesses with their contact information.
• Contact those people to discuss the situation with them to see if their testimony will be helpful to your case or defense and if they will be willing to testify.
• Also ask them if they are available to testify----are they moving, relocating, if so get a written statement from them (if you can get an affidavit that would be good, but not mandatory).
•  Put any witness statements in the file.
• To prepare ahead of time and early helps you prepare for the hearing and it helps you to frame the issues of the complaint and response.
• The Complainant has the burden of proving his/her case by a preponderance of the evidence.
•  A Complainant should ask himself, “am I going to win or am I just wasting time and money?”
• This type of analysis may help determine whether or not there is a good case for arbitration.
•  If you are not sure of the legal issues or if you have any questions on procuring cause, you can call the Legal Helpline or review the Code of Ethics manual.
• But remember if you call the Legal Helpline, the attorney is only hearing your side of the story. At the arbitration, the hearing panel is hearing both sides!
• If after you go through all your documents and speak to all your witnesses you believe that you have enough evidence to file an arbitration complaint, you can file an arbitration complaint at www.lirealtor.com under Dispute Resolution Center.