An Act Concerning Dispute Resolution in Home Construction Contracts
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 10 MRSA §1487, sub-§8, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 574, is amended to read:
8. Resolution of disputes. A statement allowing the parties the option to adopt one of 3 methods of resolving contract disputes. At a minimum, this statement must provide the following information:
" If a dispute arises concerning the provisions of this contract or the performance by the parties, then the parties agree to settle this dispute by jointly paying for one of the following Disputes of $4,500 and under may be resolved without a lawyer in a small claims action. Claims greater than $4,500 may be resolved by a lawsuit or by any of the following means if both parties agree (check only one if both parties agree):
(1) Binding arbitration as regulated by under the Maine Uniform Arbitration Act, with in which the parties agreeing agree to accept as final the arbitrator's decision ( );
(2) Nonbinding arbitration, with the parties free to not accept reject the arbitrator's decision and to seek satisfaction a solution through other means, including a lawsuit ( ); or
(3) Mediation, with in which the parties agreeing to enter into good faith negotiations negotiate through a neutral mediator in order to attempt an effort to resolve their differences in advance of filing a lawsuit ( )";
summary
This bill amends the home construction contract laws to clarify what steps may be taken to resolve a dispute between the parties in the contract.