Arbitration News

State's Lemon Law Arbitration Program Backs Consumers 

As National Consumer Protection Week concludes, Massachusetts Consumer Affairs Director Beth Lindstrom urged consumers who end up with defective cars to make their first line of defense the state’s Lemon Law Arbitration program. 

During Director Lindstrom’s tenure, the Office of Consumer Affairs’ New and Used Vehicle Lemon Law Arbitration program awarded more than $3 million to car buyers that wound up with either new or used lemons. More than half of the $3 million was the result of settlements entered into by manufacturers of new cars or used car dealerships. 

“This track record proves that consumers don’t need to use a legal service to get the compensation they deserve. Our program is free, fast and gets results while avoiding potentially lengthy litigation,” said Consumer Affairs Director Beth Lindstrom. In 2005, nearly 2,000 consumers contacted the Consumer Affairs’ hotline with questions about the Lemon Laws or to apply for arbitration. Read more at mass.gov  

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	Did You Know?
	Arbitration is different than mediation. Mediation is a method of dispute resolution whereby the disputing parties achieve a mutually-satisfactory resolution with the assistance of a mediator. Unlike arbitration sessions, mediation sessions are not “decided” in favor of one party or another; rather, the mediator simply facilitates the negotiation process between the parties. Mediating parties are not bound to resolve their dispute (although mediated settlements, once reached, can be made binding if the parties decide to draft a contract called a settlement agreement). Arbitrating parties, on the other hand, receive a final decision from the arbitrator, which is either binding or non-binding depending on the terms of the arbitration agreement.