The 9th Circuit recently allowed a claimant to proceed in court after her arbitration had been terminated due to her failure to pay half the arbitration fees. Tillman v. Tillman, __ F.3d __, 2016 WL 3343785 (9th Cir. June 15, 2016).
The case involved a client’s malpractice claim against her lawyers, which was stayed by the federal court after the lawyers compelled it into arbitration. At some point in arbitration, the client was unable to pay the $18,562.50 the AAA required to continue with the claim. The law firm refused to pay the client’s share of the fees, and the arbitrator terminated the arbitration as a result of nonpayment.
The law firm then asked the federal court to lift its stay and dismiss the malpractice complaint for failure to prosecute. The court reviewed evidence and confirmed the client was unable to pay the AAA fee, but dismissed her case.
