Colorado Commercial Arbitration & Mediation Attorney
Many business contracts send disputes to arbitration before a court ever sees them, and many court cases are settled in mediation. We represent businesses and individuals in both: contract and commercial arbitration under the Colorado Revised Uniform Arbitration Act and the Federal Arbitration Act, and business mediation at any stage of a dispute.
Based in Greenwood Village, serving clients across Colorado.
Arbitration and Mediation Are Different Tools
One produces a decision. The other produces an agreement, or nothing at all.
Arbitration
A private adjudication. The parties present their case to an arbitrator or panel they have chosen, and the arbitrator issues an award that decides the dispute. In Colorado it is governed by the Colorado Revised Uniform Arbitration Act, C.R.S. § 13-22-201 through -230, adopted in 2004, and in most commercial and employment contracts also by the Federal Arbitration Act. A binding award, once confirmed, becomes a court judgment.
- Usually required by a clause in the contract
- A neutral decides; the parties do not have to agree
- Limited court review, on six statutory grounds
- Award can be confirmed and enforced as a judgment
Mediation
A facilitated negotiation. A neutral mediator helps the parties reach their own settlement and imposes nothing; if no agreement is reached, the case goes on. Colorado’s Dispute Resolution Act, C.R.S. § 13-22-301 and following, enacted in 1983, created the Judicial Branch’s Office of Dispute Resolution and, in § 13-22-307, made mediation communications confidential and inadmissible if disclosed.
- Voluntary outcome; nobody is bound without signing
- Confidential by statute, with narrow exceptions
- Available with or without a pending court case
- A signed settlement agreement is enforceable as a contract
How Arbitration Works Under Colorado Law
From the clause in the contract to a judgment you can collect on
The agreement to arbitrate
Under C.R.S. § 13-22-206 an agreement in a record to submit an existing or future controversy to arbitration is valid, enforceable, and irrevocable, except on a ground that exists at law or in equity for the revocation of any contract. A court decides whether an agreement to arbitrate exists and whether a dispute falls within it; the arbitrator decides whether a condition precedent has been met and whether the contract containing the clause is otherwise enforceable. If one side asks a court to rule on the clause, the arbitration may continue in the meantime unless the court orders otherwise.
The hearing and the award
The parties present evidence and argument to the arbitrator or panel under the rules their agreement selects, and the arbitrator issues a written award. Whether that award is binding depends on the agreement: parties can, and usually do, agree to binding arbitration, but they can also agree to a non-binding process.
Confirming the award
After receiving notice of the award, a party may move the district court to confirm it under C.R.S. § 13-22-222. The court must confirm unless the award is modified or corrected under §§ 13-22-220 or -224, or vacated under § 13-22-223. Once the court rules, § 13-22-225 directs it to enter a judgment that is recorded, docketed, and enforced like any other civil judgment, and the court may award the prevailing party in a contested proceeding its reasonable attorney fees and litigation expenses.
Challenging the award
A motion to vacate must be filed within 91 days after the movant receives notice of the award; where the ground is corruption, fraud, or other undue means, within 91 days after that ground is known or should have been known with reasonable diligence. Colorado’s statute says 91 days, not the 90 used in some other states’ versions of the uniform act.
The six grounds to vacate an award (C.R.S. § 13-22-223)
- The award was procured by corruption, fraud, or other undue means.
- There was evident partiality, corruption, or misconduct by an arbitrator that prejudiced a party’s rights.
- The arbitrator refused to postpone the hearing on a showing of good cause, refused to consider material evidence, or otherwise conducted the hearing in a way that substantially prejudiced a party.
- The arbitrator exceeded his or her powers.
- There was no valid agreement to arbitrate, unless the objecting party took part in the hearing without raising the objection.
- The arbitration was conducted without proper notice in a way that substantially prejudiced a party.
An award may not be vacated merely because the relief granted could not or would not be granted by a court of law or equity. Disagreeing with the result is not a ground.
What We Do for You in Arbitration and Mediation
We act as your counsel, not as the neutral
Represent you in the arbitration
We appear for you before the arbitrator or panel: framing the claims or defenses, handling the exchange of documents the rules allow, examining witnesses, and briefing the issues the award will turn on.
Prepare the case
Arbitration moves on a schedule set by the arbitrator and the rules, not the court’s docket. We build the record early: contracts, correspondence, accounting, expert input where the dispute needs it, and a clear statement of what you are asking the arbitrator to decide.
Draft or review arbitration clauses
Before there is a dispute, the clause decides where and how it will be resolved: the scope of what is arbitrable, the rules and administering body, the seat, the number of arbitrators, whether the award is binding, and whether the Federal Arbitration Act or the Colorado act will govern. We draft clauses for your contracts and review the ones you are asked to sign.
Enforce or challenge an award
When you win, we move to confirm the award and reduce it to a judgment under C.R.S. §§ 13-22-222 and -225. When the process went wrong, we evaluate the six statutory grounds and, where one applies, file the motion to vacate within the 91-day window of § 13-22-223, or oppose the other side’s motion.
Represent you in mediation
We prepare your position and settlement range, attend the session with you, negotiate with the other side through the mediator, and draft or review the written settlement agreement so that what was agreed is what gets signed.
Advise on which path fits
Some contracts leave you no choice; a valid clause will be enforced. Where you do have a choice, we walk through the questions that matter: whether you need a decision or a deal, how much the relationship is worth preserving, what confidentiality you need, and how each path affects cost and timing for your particular dispute.
The Statutes Behind the Process
| Statute | What it does |
|---|---|
| C.R.S. § 13-22-206 | Arbitration agreements are valid, enforceable, and irrevocable except on ordinary contract-law grounds |
| C.R.S. § 13-22-222 | A court must confirm an award unless it is modified, corrected, or vacated |
| C.R.S. § 13-22-223 | Six grounds to vacate; motion due within 91 days of notice of the award |
| C.R.S. § 13-22-225 | The confirmed award becomes a judgment, enforced like any other civil judgment |
| C.R.S. § 13-22-307 | Mediation communications are confidential and inadmissible if disclosed, with narrow exceptions |
| 9 U.S.C. §§ 1–16 | Federal Arbitration Act governs arbitration agreements in contracts involving interstate commerce |
Arbitration & Mediation FAQs
Straight answers, with the law they come from
Talk to a Colorado Arbitration Attorney
Bring the contract. We will tell you what the clause requires and what your options are.