Over the years I have had the pleasure to serve as a mediator, commissioner, master, referee, and arbitrator to determine the location of disputed boundaries. The following is a story of a boundary arbitration. (It is actually derived from parts of various arbitrations; names and certain facts have been changed to protect privacy.) If you are ever a party to a boundary arbitration, learning about the process from the arbitrator's point of view will be helpful. The call starting the arbitration comes from an attorney (the attorney had been informed by his client's surveyor that I offer services as an arbitrator). The attorney asks if I would be interested in arbitrating a disputed boundary involving his client. He explains that the boundary has been in litigation for five years and the parties would like to have the dispute resolved in an expedient manner (i.e., they can't afford any more justice the usual way). After checking for a conflicting interest, I volunteered that I would be interested in serving as an arbitrator.
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