NASD Dispute Resolution Establishes A New Hearing Location In Orlando, Florida, For Arbitration And Mediation Claims Filed In Its Forum

INFORMATIONAL

Dispute Resolution

Executive Summary

NASD Dispute Resolution, Inc. (NASD DR) recently established Orlando as the third hearing location within the State of Florida. Boca Raton and Tampa will continue as hearing locations in Florida.

The Southeast Regional Office of NASD DR, located in Boca Raton, will administer all arbitration and mediation claims assigned to the Orlando hearing location. With the recent addition of Orlando, NASD DR now operates hearing locations in 47 cities across the United States.

Questions/Further Information

Questions regarding this Notice may be directed to Rose M. Schindler, Director, NASD DR Southeast Regional Office, at (561) 416-0277.

Discussion

In response to requests by party representatives, NASD DR conducted an analysis to determine the need for a third hearing location in the State of Florida. NASD DR had two designated hearing locations in Boca Raton and Tampa. NASD DR assigned all arbitration and mediation claims with customer addresses in Southeast Florida to the Boca Raton hearing location. All claims in the remaining three quarters of the state were assigned to the Tampa hearing location.

Because of the large geographical area covered by the Tampa hearing location, and the large number of claims filed within this hearing location, a significant number of parties and arbitrators were required to travel distances in excess of 100 miles for their arbitration hearing. To alleviate this inconvenience to parties, many of whom are elderly, and to arbitrators, NASD DR concluded that a third hearing location offered significant advantages.

After further analysis, NASD DR determined Orlando to be the most reasonable and accessible city for a third hearing location. Factors favoring Orlando include its population size, its population demographics, the availability of an existing pool of arbitrators, and its location in the center of the state. NASD DR is pleased that it is able to better meet the needs of its customers by establishing Orlando as an additional hearing location for arbitration and mediation claims filed in its forum.