Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Alternative Dispute Resolution

Procedures for settling disputes by means other than litigation; e.g., by ARBITRATION, mediation, or minitrials. Such procedures, which are usually less costly and more expeditious than litigation, are increasingly being used in commercial and labor disputes, DIVORCE actions, in resolving motor vehicle and MEDICAL MALPRACTICE tort claims, and in other disputes that would likely otherwise involve court litigation.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, many people became increasingly concerned that the traditional method of resolving legal disputes in the United States, through conventional litigation, had become too expensive, too slow, and too cumbersome for many civil lawsuits (cases between...