The vast majority of claims eventually settle, but only after years of costly proceedings, posturing, and failed attempts to arrive at a bargained solution. For a one-time fee of $125, this unique new system lets you pursue a reasonable settlement and determine whether it can currently be achieved in a manner that is far more credible and efficient than any other method.

What it Is

The Fair Proposals System is a tool that can be used to manage and resolve virtually any sort of a claim for money, regardless of the size, nature, or status of the claim, and that can be used by a party on either side of such a claim at any time. It's a commitment device that provides a practical application of Thomas C. Schelling's Nobel Prize-winning work on managing and resolving conflict. It's a dispute resolution method that you can use unilaterally, without having to seek or secure the other side's cooperation, and without having to reveal your proposed settlement amount unless and until the other side commits to settle for that amount.

How it Works

After entering some simple data identifying the parties and the claim, you can use the System to commit to settle the claim by a fixed deadline for a specific amount of money, an amount that won't be disclosed to the other side unless the other side uses the System to commit to settle the claim for that amount prior to the deadline (in which event the claim settles for that amount). You can then use the System to determine whether your undisclosed settlement amount is acceptable to the other side. This is done by simply causing the System to issue an invitation that allows the other side to make a similar determination (1) at no cost, and (2) in complete secrecy (unless a settlement is achieved). You can complete these simple steps in less than five minutes, at which point your work is done.

Once you've used the System to issue an invitation, self-interest obliges the other side to use the System to determine whether your undisclosed settlement amount falls within a range that is acceptable to the other side (by simply commiting to settle for that amount if, and only if, it falls within that range). If it does, then the claim settles for that amount at that time.

If the claim does not settle for that amount by the deadline, then (1) the System won't disclose that amount or disclose any use (or non-use) of the System made by the other side, (2) a party that has used the System can download a confidential Certificate attesting to the manner in which that party used it and the results of that use, and (3) the System won't generally permit either party, over the objection of the other, to use the System again with respect to that claim.

What it Does

Unlike all other dispute-resolution methods (including litigation, arbitration, mediation, direct negotiation, and all on-line versions of those methods), the System's design negates any incentive or rationale for either party to try to use it to posture (i.e., to try to gain leverage by misrepresenting what they would actually be willing to settle for, or by refusing to meaningfully participate in the process). Self-interest obliges the initiating party to reflect on and confidentially commit to a reasonable and realistic settlement amount at the outset of the process, and self-interest obliges the other side to do the same prior to the deadline. The System's design makes this the only sensible strategy for each side, regardless of whether the other side follows that strategy.

What the System does is allow you, without the need for a prior agreement with the other side, to unilaterally pursue a reasonable and realistic settlement (and determine whether it can currently be achieved) in a manner that is far more credible and efficient, far more limited in terms of the amount of information that needs to be revealed by either side, and far less costly and protracted than all other dispute-resolution methods.

Our Fees

The fee for initiating a use of the System and causing it to send an invitation to the other side is one hundred and twenty-five United States dollars ($125). There are no other fees or charges involved in using the System.

(In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Fair Outcomes, Inc. is currently waiving the $125 fee for attorneys who are providing bar-association approved limited scope representation services, pro bono services, or who are using the System as part of a bar-association approved final offer arbitration program. Inquiries should be directed via email to: info@fairoutcomes.com.)