Frequently Asked Questions
Glossary:
Plaintiff: The party making the Claim.
Defendant: The party against whom the Claim is made.
Claim: The Plaintiff’s legal and factual allegation against the Defendant.
E-Judge: The party deciding who prevails (wins) in the dispute.
Discovery: The process in which the parties request information from each other.
Award: Written determination by the Judge as to who prevails (wins) the dispute.
Jurisdiction: The authority granted to the court to hear a case.
Counter Claim: An additional Claim by the defendant against the plaintiff.
Claims
Yes, Brief will guide you through the online dispute process, and you will have more than one opportunity to present your case and to upload your supporting evidence or documents.
At the time a matter is determined to be in default (a failure to timely respond) the case will be assigned to one of the E-Judges for review. In accordance with the Brief Rules, if the evidence supports an award the assigned E-Judge will issue that award.
If more evidence or information is required the E-Judge will contact Plaintiff with any inquiries. Any award, once issued, will set forth the amount of the award, the amount of any fees or costs that the parties are entitled to, along with a brief summary of the basis of the award.
Discovery on the Brief platform is done in accordance with the Brief Rules. Brief expects and requires that during the course of the claim process the parties to the dispute will upload all of their relevant evidence, testimony and arguments. It is also expected that the parties will be transparent and forthwith and provide all relevant documents whether favorable or not. Further, if any party believes that certain documents or information was not made available by their opposition, that party can send an inquiry through the Brief platform to the assigned Ejudge advising them of the alleged deficiency. The Ejudge can then make an independent determination as to whether to have those documents, information or things be provided for further evaluation or review. All discovery will be managed through this process and all inquiries, determinations or sanctions remain under the sole and exclusive management of the Ejudge.
Yes. You can provide these when you create your Claim or upload and describe your evidence before the case is finalized and submitted to the Judge.
The E-Judge will typically apply the law of the state in which the Claim arose, unless there is an agreement or contract that requires the application of a different jurisdiction’s law. If there is a dispute as to which law applies, the E-Judge will evaluate that aspect of the dispute and make a determination as to which law applies.
Brief will not and cannot provide any legal advice or legal assistance. As such, we recommend that you seek your own independent legal advice from your own attorney.
If you disagree with Brief as the forum for this dispute, you should immediately consult an attorney. Failure to formally object may waive your right to object to this forum at a later date and the E-judge retains the ability to determine jurisdiction.
Please immediately contact Brief at [email protected] so that we can review, correct, or withdraw the Claim.
If you don’t recognize the plaintiff or this obligation, please immediately contact Brief at [email protected] so that we can review, correct, or withdraw the Claim.
Most of our participants get to an Award in an average of 45 days, start to finish, a fraction of the time it takes traditional courts, arbitration, or mediation to decide a case.
Brief recommends that you consult with an attorney, but failure to respond to a Claim may result in a default Award or judgment against you.
Brief recommends that you consult with an attorney as you have the right to defend the Claim against you.
Yes, but only for a certain amount of time (a few weeks for each step). Brief provides you with a structured Claim review and Response protocol (with an associated time frame) that allows you to modify parts of a Claim at certain stages. Once the Claim is finalized and submitted by Brief to the E-Judge, the E-Judge will consider all information and evidence submitted in their final decision (Award).
You will be given the opportunity to object to the evidence and present any counter-evidence or written testimony you deem appropriate.
Brief will give you with the opportunity to provide the facts and circumstances that you feel prove your Claim (supporting evidence) and will request that you upload all supporting evidence in the form of documentation (files, emails) or pictures. That evidence plus your written Claim or Response will be reviewed by the Judge to determine whether your Claim is supported by the evidence you provided.
Due to the nature of the Claims that Brief will decide, discovery by the parties is not permitted. However, the E-Judge is allowed to ask substantive questions of the parties at their own discretion and only if needed.
If you received a notice of a Claim filed against you, you can register on Brief and then you will be able to review that Claim (registration is not an admission of responsibility). You can then respond to that Claim and have it submitted to the E-Judge for resolution. Review of the Claim is without obligation to participate in the arbitration, however failure to respond may result in adverse legal consequences. If you are unsure we recommend you seek the advice of an attorney.
Platform
Brief is an online dispute resolution platform designed to quickly and cost-effectively arbitrate disputes. It is designed to allow the parties to present their Claims, defenses, arguments, and evidence through its online portal and have a professional arbitrator decide the dispute between the parties.
Brief is designed so that anyone can use the platform to resolve a qualified Claim. However, it is always recommended that parties seek independent legal advice regarding any legal dispute or issue
Brief does not handle employment Claims, evictions, torts or personal injury, fraud or negligence.
When it pertains to a monetary dispute, Brief is designed to handle Claims that are $500,000 or less. Brief can also handle declaratory relief actions and other types of Claims that may or may not have a monetary component.
If you are unsure if Brief is the proper forum for your Claim or dispute, please contact us at [email protected].
No, and it cannot provide legal advice. Brief is a dispute resolution company that conducts its arbitrations exclusively on its patent-pending online platform. Brief prides itself on being impartial and neutral. Its impartiality is critical to resolving disputes fairly and expeditiously.
Brief is an arbitration platform that moves the arbitration process to an online forum. The online technology streamlines the arbitration process, reduces the cost, and shortens the time it takes to reach a decision. The final Award issued by Brief is no different from a final Award issued by a traditional arbitration.
Our online arbitration platform is less costly than traditional arbitration or litigation and it is much faster. For a simple fixed fee, a party can resolve a dispute in a short time span (usually less than 4 months) and have the peace of mind and business predictability that comes with a resolution, predictable cost and closure of a lawsuit or dispute, regardless of the outcome.
Our judges (E-Judges) are lawyers, professionals, or retired judges who have at least ten years of experience and that have no record of bar discipline.
To ensure timeliness and efficiency, E-Judges are automatically selected for each case; litigants do not get to select them. Each E-Judge is selected by their jurisdiction and their areas of expertise or knowledge.
Our E-Judges are evaluated internally on the quality and timeliness of their Awards as well as through feedback from participants on Brief.
Yes, they are paid a flat fee.
A Plaintiff (the one creating the Claim) can sign up and immediately present their Claim and upload and submit all supporting evidence and written testimony.
Brief will notify the Defendant of the Plaintiff’s Claim and provide the Defendant with the opportunity to respond to the Claim and upload and submit their own evidence.
Once the Plaintiff reviews the Defendant’s Response, they each get another round to respond (counter) if they so choose. Then the Claim is submitted to a preselected E-Judge who will then review the evidence, ask questions if necessary, and make a decision (render an Award).
Brief is designed to be efficient and cost-effective. As such, not all Claims warrant a live hearing or live testimony. The E-Judge assigned to your Claim will decide whether a live hearing or live testimony is required to resolve your dispute or Claim.
Most of our participants get to an Award in an average of 45 days, start to finish, a fraction of the time it takes traditional courts, arbitration, or mediation to decide a case.
Defendants / Respondents
Due to the nature of the Claims that Brief will decide, discovery by the parties is not permitted. However, the E-Judge is allowed to ask substantive questions of the parties at their own discretion and only if needed.
Under federal and state laws, there are ways to challenge an arbitration award. The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and some state laws provide the reasons why an award can be vacated (thrown out), modified (changed), or corrected. Those reasons are very limited in general. Please review the FAA or the applicable state law to understand the standards for modification, correction or being vacated.
Brief will not and cannot provide any legal advice or legal assistance. As such, we recommend that you seek your own independent legal advice from your own attorney.
Brief can facilitate a settlement between the Plaintiff and you after you register online here.
Because Brief is a private company, the records you submit are stored and encrypted in our secure database and subject to our Privacy Policy. However, because this is a legal dispute those records may, at some point, become part of a public filing after an Award has been rendered.
If you disagree with Brief as the forum for this dispute, you should immediately consult an attorney. Failure to formally object may waive your right to object to this forum at a later date and the E-judge retains the ability to determine jurisdiction.
Please immediately contact Brief at [email protected] so that we can review, correct, or withdraw the Claim.
If you don’t recognize the plaintiff or this obligation, please immediately contact Brief at [email protected] so that we can review, correct, or withdraw the Claim.
Yes, Brief will guide you through the online dispute process, and you will have more than one opportunity to present your case and to upload your supporting evidence or documents.
Brief recommends that you consult with an attorney, but failure to respond to a Claim may result in a default Award or judgment against you.
Brief recommends that you consult with an attorney as you have the right to defend the Claim against you.
Yes, if there is a question of fact or evidence, the E-Judge will ask the parties to clarify information and may ask for additional written testimony, evidence or documents.
Yes, but only for a certain amount of time (a few weeks for each step). Brief provides you with a structured Claim review and Response protocol (with an associated time frame) that allows you to modify parts of a Claim at certain stages. Once the Claim is finalized and submitted by Brief to the E-Judge, the E-Judge will consider all information and evidence submitted in their final decision (Award).
You will be given the opportunity to object to the evidence and present any counter-evidence or written testimony you deem appropriate.
Brief will give you with the opportunity to provide the facts and circumstances that you feel prove your Claim (supporting evidence) and will request that you upload all supporting evidence in the form of documentation (files, emails) or pictures. That evidence plus your written Claim or Response will be reviewed by the Judge to determine whether your Claim is supported by the evidence you provided.
You will be given multiple opportunities to upload evidence, which includes documents, emails, photos, transcripts, affidavits/declarations, video, audio, contracts, emails, text messages, etc.
Brief is an online dispute resolution platform designed to quickly and cost-effectively arbitrate disputes. It is designed to allow the parties to present their Claims, defenses, arguments, and evidence through its online portal and have a professional arbitrator decide the dispute between the parties.
The plaintiff is typically the party that initiates the arbitration process. The defendant is the party against whom the plaintiff has asserted his/her/its Claim.
If you received a notice of a Claim filed against you, you can register on Brief and then you will be able to review that Claim (registration is not an admission of responsibility). You can then respond to that Claim and have it submitted to the E-Judge for resolution. Review of the Claim is without obligation to participate in the arbitration, however failure to respond may result in adverse legal consequences. If you are unsure we recommend you seek the advice of an attorney.
Brief is designed for anyone to use the service but you are not precluded from hiring a lawyer if you require a lawyer’s assistance. Brief does not encourage or discourage the use of attorneys for these disputes and it is up to the Plaintiff and Defendant to each decide if they require legal assistance. If you decide to have a lawyer handle your Claim for you, your lawyer simply logs in as you and completes the Brief process for you.
Most of our participants get to an Award in an average of 45 days, start to finish, a fraction of the time it takes traditional courts, arbitration, or mediation to decide a case.
Exactly like traditional arbitration and mediation, Brief E-Judges are independent triers of fact and their decisions and determinations are their own. However, we have an Oversight Committee that will review some Awards before they are finalized to ensure quality and accuracy. If the Committee has any questions about the Award it will give those questions to the E-Judge as need be, prior to the E-Judge rendering their Award. The committee will never ask an E-Judge to change their legal determinations.
Yes, they are paid a flat fee.
We take communications with the E-Judge as seriously as any court of law would. So, all communications to the E-Judge are only at the E-Judge’s request and only through the Brief dashboard and platform. E-Judge communications will be sent simultaneously to both parties as will any Responses.
If you contact our Brief E-Judge outside of the Brief system on an active Brief case, our E-Judge is precluded (not allowed) to reply or otherwise engage with you outside the platform.
Our judges (E-Judges) are lawyers, professionals, or retired judges who have at least ten years of experience and that have no record of bar discipline.
To ensure timeliness and efficiency, E-Judges are automatically selected for each case; litigants do not get to select them. Each E-Judge is selected by their jurisdiction and their areas of expertise or knowledge.
Our E-Judges are evaluated internally on the quality and timeliness of their Awards as well as through feedback from participants on Brief.
When it pertains to a monetary dispute, Brief is designed to handle Claims that are $500,000 or less. Brief can also handle declaratory relief actions and other types of Claims that may or may not have a monetary component.
If you are unsure if Brief is the proper forum for your Claim or dispute, please contact us at [email protected].
In most instances arbitration is confidential and the documents uploaded and shared with Brief are subject to its privacy policy and terms.
Mediation usually takes place before arbitration and is a method for disputing parties to have a neutral third party listen to both sides of the dispute. That neutral party can then make recommendations to the parties to settle or resolve that dispute so that the parties can avoid litigation or further arbitration.
Mediation is non-binding, whereas arbitration, in most instances, including on the Brief platform, is binding and cannot be appealed.
Brief does not handle employment Claims, evictions, torts or personal injury, fraud or negligence.
Brief is ideal for monetary claims, collection actions, promissory note disputes, rent collection, declaratory relief, and breach of contract Claims.
Plaintiffs / Claimants
You will be given multiple opportunities to upload evidence, which includes documents, emails, photos, transcripts, affidavits/declarations, video, audio, contracts, emails, text messages, etc.
Under federal and state laws, there are ways to challenge an arbitration award. The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and some state laws provide the reasons why an award can be vacated (thrown out), modified (changed), or corrected. Those reasons are very limited in general. Please review the FAA or the applicable state law to understand the standards for modification, correction or being vacated.
Unfortunately, in every dispute, there are winners and non-winners. Once an Award is rendered (posted) by Brief, it is up to the prevailing (winning) party to have that Award converted into a Judgment. All of the parties’ rights (Plaintiff or Defendant) are preserved in connection with that Judgment process. To avoid future adverse consequences, many parties will try and resolve the matter informally at this stage before the Award is converted to a Judgment but that is up to the parties themselves to try and accomplish that.
An arbitration Award can only be appealed if the disputing parties agreed to an appealable Award in their original contract or in some other binding agreement.
Yes, it is a final determination of the merits of the dispute (Claim). But to become enforceable, the prevailing (winning) party must file the Award with the appropriate court to convert it into a court judgment.
In the context of arbitration, a judgment is when a court with proper jurisdiction reduces or confirms the Award and converts into an enforceable court judgment.
Not necessarily. The parties are encouraged to resolve the Award after it is issued but if the parties cannot reach an agreement after the Award is issued, the prevailing party is entitled to seek to convert or reduce the Award into an enforceable court judgment.
Similar to traditional arbitration and mediation, Brief is a private service and renders the parties in a dispute an Award (decision). Again, similar to traditional arbitration and mediation, the Award will be a one-to-two page document that summarizes the Claim, the E-Judge’s decision, and why they decided in that way. That Award can then, at the choice of the prevailing (winning) party, be filed with the appropriate court to be converted into a legally binding judgment.
Yes. You can provide these when you create your Claim or upload and describe your evidence before the case is finalized and submitted to the Judge.
The E-Judge will typically apply the law of the state in which the Claim arose, unless there is an agreement or contract that requires the application of a different jurisdiction’s law. If there is a dispute as to which law applies, the E-Judge will evaluate that aspect of the dispute and make a determination as to which law applies.
Brief will not and cannot provide any legal advice or legal assistance. As such, we recommend that you seek your own independent legal advice from your own attorney.
Because Brief is a private company, the records you submit are stored and encrypted in our secure database and subject to our Privacy Policy. However, because this is a legal dispute those records may, at some point, become part of a public filing after an Award has been rendered.
Yes, if there is a question of fact or evidence, the E-Judge will ask the parties to clarify information and may ask for additional written testimony, evidence or documents.
Yes, but only for a certain amount of time (a few weeks for each step). Brief provides you with a structured Claim review and Response protocol (with an associated time frame) that allows you to modify parts of a Claim at certain stages. Once the Claim is finalized and submitted by Brief to the E-Judge, the E-Judge will consider all information and evidence submitted in their final decision (Award).
You will be given the opportunity to object to the evidence and present any counter-evidence or written testimony you deem appropriate.
Brief will give you with the opportunity to provide the facts and circumstances that you feel prove your Claim (supporting evidence) and will request that you upload all supporting evidence in the form of documentation (files, emails) or pictures. That evidence plus your written Claim or Response will be reviewed by the Judge to determine whether your Claim is supported by the evidence you provided.
Brief is an online dispute resolution platform designed to quickly and cost-effectively arbitrate disputes. It is designed to allow the parties to present their Claims, defenses, arguments, and evidence through its online portal and have a professional arbitrator decide the dispute between the parties.
Due to the nature of the Claims that Brief will decide, discovery by the parties is not permitted. However, the E-Judge is allowed to ask substantive questions of the parties at their own discretion and only if needed.
The plaintiff is typically the party that initiates the arbitration process. The defendant is the party against whom the plaintiff has asserted his/her/its Claim.
Brief is designed for anyone to use the service but you are not precluded from hiring a lawyer if you require a lawyer’s assistance. Brief does not encourage or discourage the use of attorneys for these disputes and it is up to the Plaintiff and Defendant to each decide if they require legal assistance. If you decide to have a lawyer handle your Claim for you, your lawyer simply logs in as you and completes the Brief process for you.
Most of our participants get to an Award in an average of 45 days, start to finish, a fraction of the time it takes traditional courts, arbitration, or mediation to decide a case.
Exactly like traditional arbitration and mediation, Brief E-Judges are independent triers of fact and their decisions and determinations are their own. However, we have an Oversight Committee that will review some Awards before they are finalized to ensure quality and accuracy. If the Committee has any questions about the Award it will give those questions to the E-Judge as need be, prior to the E-Judge rendering their Award. The committee will never ask an E-Judge to change their legal determinations.
Yes, they are paid a flat fee.
We take communications with the E-Judge as seriously as any court of law would. So, all communications to the E-Judge are only at the E-Judge’s request and only through the Brief dashboard and platform. E-Judge communications will be sent simultaneously to both parties as will any Responses.
If you contact our Brief E-Judge outside of the Brief system on an active Brief case, our E-Judge is precluded (not allowed) to reply or otherwise engage with you outside the platform.
Our judges (E-Judges) are lawyers, professionals, or retired judges who have at least ten years of experience and that have no record of bar discipline.
To ensure timeliness and efficiency, E-Judges are automatically selected for each case; litigants do not get to select them. Each E-Judge is selected by their jurisdiction and their areas of expertise or knowledge.
Our E-Judges are evaluated internally on the quality and timeliness of their Awards as well as through feedback from participants on Brief.
When it pertains to a monetary dispute, Brief is designed to handle Claims that are $500,000 or less. Brief can also handle declaratory relief actions and other types of Claims that may or may not have a monetary component.
If you are unsure if Brief is the proper forum for your Claim or dispute, please contact us at [email protected].
In most instances arbitration is confidential and the documents uploaded and shared with Brief are subject to its privacy policy and terms.
Mediation usually takes place before arbitration and is a method for disputing parties to have a neutral third party listen to both sides of the dispute. That neutral party can then make recommendations to the parties to settle or resolve that dispute so that the parties can avoid litigation or further arbitration.
Mediation is non-binding, whereas arbitration, in most instances, including on the Brief platform, is binding and cannot be appealed.
Brief does not handle employment Claims, evictions, torts or personal injury, fraud or negligence.
Brief is ideal for monetary claims, collection actions, promissory note disputes, rent collection, declaratory relief, and breach of contract Claims.
Judges
Brief is an online dispute resolution platform designed to quickly and cost-effectively arbitrate disputes. It is designed to allow the parties to present their Claims, defenses, arguments, and evidence through its online portal and have a professional arbitrator decide the dispute between the parties.
Yes, they are paid a flat fee.
Excellent! We are constantly looking to expand our network of arbitrators and E-Judges. Please get in touch with us here.
Awards
Brief can facilitate a settlement between the Plaintiff and you after you register online here.
The E-Judge will typically apply the law of the state in which the Claim arose, unless there is an agreement or contract that requires the application of a different jurisdiction’s law. If there is a dispute as to which law applies, the E-Judge will evaluate that aspect of the dispute and make a determination as to which law applies.
Similar to traditional arbitration and mediation, Brief is a private service and renders the parties in a dispute an Award (decision). Again, similar to traditional arbitration and mediation, the Award will be a one-to-two page document that summarizes the Claim, the E-Judge’s decision, and why they decided in that way. That Award can then, at the choice of the prevailing (winning) party, be filed with the appropriate court to be converted into a legally binding judgment.
Not necessarily. The parties are encouraged to resolve the Award after it is issued but if the parties cannot reach an agreement after the Award is issued, the prevailing party is entitled to seek to convert or reduce the Award into an enforceable court judgment.
In the context of arbitration, a judgment is when a court with proper jurisdiction reduces or confirms the Award and converts into an enforceable court judgment.
Yes, it is a final determination of the merits of the dispute (Claim). But to become enforceable, the prevailing (winning) party must file the Award with the appropriate court to convert it into a court judgment.
An arbitration Award can only be appealed if the disputing parties agreed to an appealable Award in their original contract or in some other binding agreement.
An adverse Award may affect your credit, so attention to this dispute is paramount.
Unfortunately, in every dispute, there are winners and non-winners. Once an Award is rendered (posted) by Brief, it is up to the prevailing (winning) party to have that Award converted into a Judgment. All of the parties’ rights (Plaintiff or Defendant) are preserved in connection with that Judgment process. To avoid future adverse consequences, many parties will try and resolve the matter informally at this stage before the Award is converted to a Judgment but that is up to the parties themselves to try and accomplish that.
Under federal and state laws, there are ways to challenge an arbitration award. The Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) and some state laws provide the reasons why an award can be vacated (thrown out), modified (changed), or corrected. Those reasons are very limited in general. Please review the FAA or the applicable state law to understand the standards for modification, correction or being vacated.
Fees
The fees to use Brief are paid by the Plaintiff, so there is no up-front cost to the Defendant. However, the Plaintiff may seek reimbursement of those fees through the Brief dispute process and, if the Plaintiff prevails (wins), those fees paid by the Plaintiff to Brief may be included in the Final Award total.
Our policy is that the party initiating the case is the party responsible for the initial cost of arbitration unless the parties otherwise agree to split or shift those fees. (In those instances the Brief administrator should be contacted to facilitate a shared payment.)
It depends if your Claim is eligible for a return of attorney fees and costs. Brief will ask you, when you upload your Claim or your defense, if your costs are eligible to be paid back (it’s also ok if you don’t know; the Judge will review and correct for you). The Judge will also confirm whether a recovery of attorney’s fees (being paid back for your out-of-pocket) and your costs is appropriate. Any Award (decision) for attorney’s fees and other costs will always be, per federal and state law, at the discretion of the E-Judge.
Yes, we take all major credit cards, and ACH payments.
Offered as enterprise software, we utilize a credit-based system for our pricing model. As there are multiple paths a claim can take (default, contested, settlement, judgment, etc.), pricing will vary, depending on which milestone triggered events occur. Get in touch with us to obtain a quote.