David Allen Larson wrote about his experience as an advisor designing an online dispute resolution (ODR) platform with the New York State Unified Court System. Larson’s article focuses on the process to plan and implement the New York City small claims ODR platform. The platform is powered by Matterhorn.
The article “Designing a State Court Small Claims ODR System: Hitting a Moving Target in New York During a Pandemic” appeared in the Spring 2021 issue of the Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution and is available for download from SSRN (download link). The article pays special attention to how the COVID-19 pandemic affected the process and the launch of the platform.
Larson shares the motivation for offering online access:
There clearly was an access to justice problem, a situation that ODR can help address. Parties may not appear in court for a variety of reasons that can include shame, fear, lack of vacation time, transportation issues, no childcare, physical intimidation by the other party, or challenges related to disability. Providing parties who face those challenges with an option to appear in a virtual rather than physical environment can improve their ability to participate in a court proceeding.
David Allen Larson in “Designing a State Court Small Claims ODR System: Hitting a Moving Target in New York During a Pandemic” (download link)
Larson describes which case types and which parties are eligible for the system and future plans for expansion.
Larson is the Chair Elect, American Bar Association Section of Dispute Resolution, Professor of Law at the Mitchell Hamline School of Law, and Senior Fellow at the Dispute Resolution Institute.
Learn More about State Court Small Claims ODR
- Download the full article via SSRN (download link)
- Read about the launch of the NY ODR platform
- Visit the NY ODR site
- View more about Matterhorn Small Claims ODR