National NEWS

AAA's Commercial Caseload Marked Breakthrough in 2006

July 11, 2007 -- The American Arbitration Association achieved a breakthrough in its commercial caseload in 2006, which rose 2 percent over the previous year. It was the first increase of commercial case filings since 2000.

Figures for the AAA's 2006 case filings were included in an annual report released earlier this year. The following is a breakdown of the sectors within the commercial caseload that contributed to the increase.

Construction case filings increased more than 7 percent overall--from 3,065 cases in 2005 to 3,288 cases in 2006. Within the category, two segments had especially strong growth--residential construction cases and large, complex construction cases. General commercial construction cases, although not up for 2006, held the 2005 line.

Franchise and Licensing cases showed significant growth. Franchise arbitration case filings increased almost 26 percent--from 445 cases in 2005 to 560 cases last year. In the licensing sector, the overall increase was more than 21 percent--from 291 cases in 2005 to 354 cases in 2006. But filings of million-dollar licensing disputes almost doubled, jumping from 28 in 2005 to 54 in 2006--a 93 percent increase.

Real Estate arbitration cases experienced a 30 percent increase in year-to-year case filings--from 414 cases in 2005 to 539 last year. The large complex case segment showed a stronger gain, rising a full 69 percent in 2006 with 71 filings over the 2005 number of 42 cases filed.

In the business-to-business Banking/Financial Services sector, case filings grew more than 22 percent, increasing to 284 cases in 2006 from 232 cases the year before. The year-to-year growth in that sector's million-dollar case filings, however, was a whopping 97 percent--from 29 in 2005 to 57 in 2006.

Mediation filings also showed a substantial year-to-year increase--up 14 percent (1,879 in 2005, 2,143 in 2006). And business-to-business Healthcare arbitration had a healthy gain of 29 percent, with 351 filings in 2005, 454 in 2006.

More modest gains were registered in other sectors, including International case filings, up by 1 percent, and labor, also up by 1 percent.