ROBERT A. MERRING - ATTORNEY AT LAW, ARBITRATOR AND MEDIATOR

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES

Robert A. Merring has been active as an arbitrator, mediator and settlement officer since 1993 and has presided over hundreds of business, commercial, employment and insurance-related disputes. The American Arbitration Association has designated him as a member of its “Blue Ribbon Panel of Experienced and Reliable Arbitrators.” In addition to being on the arbitration and mediation panels of the American Arbitration Association, he has served as a Judicial Arbitrator, Settlement Officer and Temporary Judge (Judge Pro Tem) of the Orange County Superior Court from 1993 to present and as a Mediator for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California from 1996 to the present. A representative list of some of the matters in which he has served as an alternative dispute provider appears below.

In addition to substantial practical experience, he has also attended in excess of two hundred hours of intensive alternative dispute resolution training through Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute of Dispute Resolution, the American Arbitration Association, NASD (formerly known as the National Association of Securities Dealers), the American Bar Association, the Orange County Superior Court, and California Continuing Education of the Bar. He is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Sections of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of California and the Orange County Bar Association. He is also a past chair of the Intellectual Property and Technology Law Section of the Orange County Bar Association.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

Both arbitrated and mediated a number of disputes regarding the purchase and sale of businesses ranging from mom-and-pop restaurants to corporations worth millions of dollars.

Mediated a dispute between a Taiwanese assembler and an American bicycle manufacturer for the payment of goods and for offsetting claims for breach of the warranties of merchantability and fitness.

Chaired a three-member arbitration panel to determine the fair market rental of industrial real property.

Arbitrated several cases arising out of franchise agreements, including the failure to pay royalties, disputes regarding assigned territories and legal claims arising under the California Franchise Investment Act and the New Jersey Franchise Practices Act.

Arbitrated several construction and landscaping contract disputes.

Both arbitrated and mediated a host of employment-related matters, including claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and for commissions and other wage and hour issues.

Arbitrated intellectual property claims alleging the misappropriation of customer lists and other trade secrets.

Mediated property settlements between divorcing spouses and between the partners in a homosexual relationship.

Both arbitrated and mediated disputes arising out of the purchase and sale of residential real property, including both claims between the buyer and seller, and actions by real estate brokers for commissions.

Chaired a three-member arbitration panel in an accounting proceeding arising from the dissolution of a real estate partnership.

Mediated the cross-claims between the owner and builder of a commercial fishing vessel.

Arbitrated a dispute between a vendor and a non-profit corporation for the malfunctioning of a computer system.

Determined a variety of disputes relating to contracts between advertising, printing and other service companies and their customers.

Arbitrated and mediated several real property disputes between adjoining homeowners, between common interest development associations and their members, and between a title insurance company and its insured.

Arbitrated a dispute between a recycling company and a manufacturer of recycled paper goods.

Mediated a malpractice claim against an attorney whose actions allegedly resulted in an audit and the assessment of penalties by the Internal Revenue Service.

Resolved a variety of disputes under the Bankruptcy Code, including non-dischargeability and preference claims.

Participated in settlement discussions and the appellate review of scores of claims by Prudential Insurance policyholders pursuant to a court-mandated remediation plan.