For more information about CPR's work in these industries and practice areas, contact CPR at info@cpradr.org.
Antitrust
Banking
Chemical
Environmental/Haz Waste
Food
Health
Manufacturing
NonPrescription Drugs/OTC
Securities
Toxic Torts
Antitrust
In 1989, CPR convened an Antitrust Advisory Committee, comprising leading antitrust experts drawn from the corporate, defense and plaintiffs' bars. The purpose of the Committee was to produce a responsible document that would draw the attention of the antitrust bar to opportunities for ADR in the field of private antitrust disputes. The aim was to encourage consensual resolution of those disputes without court involvement. The 1989 report surveyed common types of private antitrust disputes and some of the ADR tools that may be applicable to them, including Mini-Trial and Neutral Expert Fact-Finding. It drew conclusions with respect to the ADR prospects in various types of private antitrust cases, and included a bibliography of relevant materials. That bibliography and selected case citations were updated in 1998.
Banking
CPR has drafted a means by which corporations and law firms in the Banking Industry can commit to trying ADR procedures before moving to full-scale litigation. The following signers of the commitment have agreed to resolve disputes with other signers in accordance with the CPR Banking Industry Dispute Resolution Commitment.
- BankAmerica Corporation
- Bankers Trust New York Corporation
- First Interstate Bancorp
- J.P. Morgan & Co., Incorporated
- NationsBank Corporation
- Seafirst Bank (Seattle-First National Bank)
- The Bank of California
- The Chase Manhattan Corporation
- Wells Fargo Bank
Chemical
CPR has drafted a means by which corporations and law firms in the Chemical Industry can commit to trying ADR procedures before moving to full-scale litigation. The following signers of the commitment have agreed to resolve disputes with other signers in accordance with the CPR Chemical Industry Dispute Resolution Commitment.
- Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
- Akzo Nobel N.V.
- Ashland Inc.
- BetzDearborn Inc.
- The C.P. Hall Company
- Chemtech Products, Inc.
- CONDEA Vista Company
- Crompton & Knowles Corporation
- E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company
- Eastman Chemical Company
- Flexsys America L.P.
- FMC Corporation
- Freedom Chemical Company
- General Chemical Corporation
- Georgia Gulf Corporation
- The GNI Group, Inc.
- Hoechst Corporation
- Huls America Inc.
- James H. Agger, Esq.
- Jones Chemicals, Inc.
- Jones-Hamilton Co.
- Kalama Chemical Inc.
- Lyondell Petrochemical Co.
- McKenna, Long & Aldridge, LLP
- Nalco Chemical Company
- Neville Chemical Company
- OM Group, Inc.
- Quantum Chemical Corporation
- Reilly Industries, Inc.
- Rohm and Haas Company
- Sartomer Company, Inc.
- Solvay America, Inc.
- Velsicol Chemical Corporation
Environmental/Hazardous Waste
In 1987 CPR created a Hazardous Waste Committee, consisting of leading experts in hazardous waste cleanup problems. The Committee's report reflected its view that ADR principles can be applied productively to the disputes that commonly arise among potentially responsible parties (PRPs) in Superfund waste cleanup cases. The Committee set forth certain flexible ADR procedures that it developed to achieve fair and expeditious cost allocation among PRPs at Superfund sites. These range from achieving agreement on allocation procedures to actually agreeing on cost allocations early on in the process. The report's bibliography was updated in 1998.In addition, CPR continues to work with leading property casualty insurance companies to frame an inter-insurer environmental commitment or protocol to which insurers may subscribe. CPR has also assembled an Environmental Panel of Neutrals specializing in this industry.
Equipment Leasing
CPR and the Equipment Leasing Association of America (ELA) have established the ELA-CPR Mediation Center as a service to the association's 725 member companies. It purpose is to help equipment leasing companies resolve business and employment disputes through nonbinding mediation by a neutral third party. Under the program, disputing companies are led in the mediation process by an experienced, unbiased mediator to devise a mutually agreed upon resolution to the dispute. A mediator is selected by the parties themselves from the CPR Panel of Distinguished Neutrals. Mediations are conducted in accordance with the CPR Mediation Procedure.
Fair Housing Disputes
State Farm Fire and Casualty Company and State Farm Insurance Company have agreed with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), with the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), and with the Toledo Fair Housing Center that there would be developed a voluntary mediation program whereby NFHA members, as well as individual homeowners contacting those members, will be encouraged to seek mediation as to claims or controversies allegedly arising under fair housing laws before filing a complaint with HUD or a substantially equivalent state agency. CPR was asked to administer this procedure. CPR designed the CPR Procedure for Resolution of Fair Housing Disputes to help complainants and State Farm to address individual disputes through a process encompassing open communication and identification of interests without unnecessary litigation.
Food
CPR has drafted a means by which corporations and law firms in the Food Industry can commit to trying ADR procedures before moving to full-scale litigation. The following signers of the commitment have agreed to resolve disputes with other signers in accordance with the CPR Food Industry Dispute Resolution Commitment.
- Bestfoods
- Borden Chemical, Inc.
- ConAgra Foods, Inc.
- Eric A. Taussig
- General Mills, Inc.
- Gerber Products Company
- Hershey Foods Corporation
- International Multifoods Corp.
- Kellogg Company
- Kettle Foods, Inc.
- Kraft Foods, Inc.
- Nestlé
- PepsiCo, Inc.
- Pillsbury
- Ralston Purina Company
- Reckitt & Colman Inc.
- Universal Foods Corporation
Health
CPR joined with the American Hospital Association to appoint a group of individuals to serve on an Advisory Committee in 1995. That Advisory Committee contributed to the development of a report, Managing Conflict in Health Care Organizations: A Handbook, published jointly by AHA and CPR in 1995. That Handbook was intended as a tool for considering and establishing a modern conflict resolution program within a hospital practice, network or system.
Manufacturing
CPR and the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) have established the Mediation Center for Business Disputes for NAM's 14,000 member companies. Its purpose is to help manufacturing companies resolve business and employment disputes through non-binding mediation by a neutral third party. The Mediation Center will provide assistance in persuading the other party to participate in the mediation when necessary. Mediations are conducted in accordance with the CPR Mediation Procedure. ounded in 1895, the NAM is the nation's oldest and largest industrial trade association. Its member companies, including thousands of small manufacturers, are located in every state and produce about 85% of U.S. manufactured goods.
Nonprescription Drugs/OTC
CPR and the Nonprescription Drug Manufacturers Association (now the Consumer Healthcare Products Association) have developed a dispute resolution commitment for companies in the nonprescription drug industry. Its purpose is to help manufacturers of over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals resolve trade dress disputes through negotiation or nonbinding mediation by a neutral third party. Under the terms of the commitment, disputing companies attempt first to resolve the dispute by negotiation, then by mediation. Mediations are conducted in accordance with the CPR Mediation Procedure. The following signers of the commitment have agreed to resolve disputes with other signers in accordance with the CPR Nonprescription Drug Industry Dispute Resolution Commitment.
- Block Drug Company, Inc.
- CIBA-GEIGY Corporation
- Del Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- GlaxoSmithKline
- L. Perrigo Company
- Leiner Health Products
- Pharmacia & Upjohn Co.
- Sandoz Corporation
- Schering-Plough Corporation
- Thompson Medical Company, Inc.
Securities
In 1991, CPR convened a Securities Disputes Committee that attempted to articulate a systemic approach to resolving disputes endemic to the industry by use of ADR methods appropriate to the nature of the conflict. In particular, the committee attempted to devise ADR mechanisms appropriate to four broad categories of securities disputes: class actions brought under Rule 10b-5, contribution litigation, shareholder derivative suits and SEC enforcement actions. In each category, traditional litigation was analyzed, barriers to settlement identified, opportunities for joint gains discussed, and desirable characteristics of dispute resolution mechanisms suggested, along with model procedures.
Toxic Torts
With the assistance of an advisory committee, CPR published Model ADR Procedure Rules for Loss Allocation in Toxic Tort Cases in 1987. That Procedure remains in effect unmodified since that time. However, the extensive bibliography was updated in 1998.