Government

Antitrust, Compensation, and Pricing Disputes


Arbitration can provide a fast, fair, and efficient means to resolve a wide range of issues, including antitrust, compensation, and pricing disputes. The AAA has extensive experience in developing and implementing programs under government authority for the prevention and resolution of such disputes.   

Impartial and independent arbitration can determine appropriate pricing, royalties, compensation, or valuation and serve as a component in the regulatory or judicial approval of certain mergers and acquisitions. Arbitrators with in-depth expertise can help resolve factual determinations, market, and appropriate pricing, and other potential disputes. Government can modify existing AAA commercial or related rules to create customized procedures with appropriate criteria for decision-making to resolve disputes quickly, efficiently, and cost-effectively. The AAA’s national scope uniquely allows it to provide comprehensive and consistent reporting on the implementation of such programs as well.

Since its creation in 1926, the AAA has been written into hundreds of federal and state statutes, regulations, and executive orders to provide fair and efficient dispute prevention and resolution under government agency oversight. 

The AAA has developed and implemented numerous programs for the prevention and resolution of disputes under the authority of various government entities, including Congress, the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC), and the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI). 

Case Types Include:

  • Media-merger approval orders
  • Merger settlements/final judgments (through the federal court system)
  • Valuation and compensation rate disputes
  • Standard Essential Patent (SEP) FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) determinations
  • Liability determinations

Examples Include: 

  • A number of media-merger approvals made by the FCC and DOJ, in which the AAA worked with the agencies to develop arbitration mechanisms to resolve disputes related to terms, prices, and conditions for video content distribution. These programs were implemented though several Orders issued by the FCC:
     
  • For over 40 years, the AAA, under EPA regulatory authority, has resolved complex compensation disputes related to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
  • The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) allows for certain withdrawal liability disputes to be determined through AAA arbitration under specialized rules approved by the agency (see 51 FR 22585).
  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in approving the merger of Google and Motorola Mobility, included an arbitration provision for the resolution of potential FRAND (fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory) disputes involving standard essential patents (SEPs) (see FTC Decision and Order in Docket Number C-4410).
  • The AAA is designated by federal statute to resolve certain land valuation disputes between the U.S. Department of the Interior and private landowners.

 

The AAA Advantage
  • Many of these programs are designed not just to resolve disputes through an arbitral decision but also to encourage settlement and negotiation among the parties, backed by the availability of an efficient and fair arbitration process.
     
  • For complex and technical disputes, the AAA’s ability to draw on arbitrators with significant expertise and experience in the subject matter of the dispute is critical.
     
  • Many federal arbitration programs designed to address compensation disputes incorporate a final-offer arbitration requirement, in which AAA arbitrators are proficient. Also known as “baseball arbitration,” a final-offer arbitration model empowers the arbitrator or arbitrators to select the most reasonable of two final offers and is particularly useful in driving negotiations and settlement discussions prior to an arbitration phase.  
     

For more information on how the AAA helps government agencies, please click on the Contact Us button.