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Your company is likely to enter many business relationships during your commercial activity. However, you might encounter obstacles that are unfavourable, leading to a commercial dispute. This means you and the other party disagree on an aspect of business activity and cannot find an immediate way to move forward. There are many ways to resolve business disputes, such as early neutral evaluation (ENA). This article will explain three key points you should know about the early neutral evaluation process for your commercial dispute.
What Do I Need to Know About Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE)?
Early neutral evaluation (ENA) is a method for solving commercial disputes. Below are three key points about ENA to help you decide if it is right for your dispute.
1. What is Early Neutral Evaluation (ENA)?
ENA is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) method for commercial disputes.
ENA is a flexible path to resolving your commercial dispute. Before the dispute escalates, you and the other party will choose an independent evaluator to help resolve it. The independent evaluator will analyse the strengths and weaknesses of each argument in the dispute. Once you have the expert’s viewpoint, both parties can negotiate to resolve the commercial dispute.
2. Why Should I Use Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE)?
There are many reasons why ENA may be suitable for your business disagreement. You may decide to use ENA because you are in the initial stages of the dispute and want to try to resolve it before things escalate. In this case, ENA can be an excellent option because it is less lengthy and expensive than litigation.
Moreover, ENA is confidential unless you agree otherwise; neither party can then refer to it in any later court litigation.
3. Who Can I Choose as My Evaluator in Early Neutral Evaluation (ENE)?
It is important that you select someone suitable to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your arguments. Otherwise, the opinion they give both parties can be flawed. However, it is up to you and the other party to choose who the evaluator is. For example, you could choose:
- a King’s Counsel (KC);
- a professional with expert knowledge on the matter in dispute; or
- a judge if your ENE is conducted in the Technology and Construction Court (TCC).
This guide outlines how to resolve commercial disputes.
Key Takeaways
When you run a business, you may end up in a commercial dispute. If so, one way to resolve it is through early neutral evaluation (ENA). Through this method, you and the other party appoint an evaluator to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your arguments. This helps both parties to negotiate a resolution. Moreover, you may select ENA for your business disagreement for various reasons, such as because it is less lengthy and cheaper than court proceedings. A key point to note about ENA is that you and the other party need to agree on an evaluator, and they should have suitable skills and knowledge to assess your arguments adequately.
If you need help understanding early neutral evaluation (ENA), our experienced disputes and litigation solicitors can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.
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Frequently Asked Questions
An alternative dispute resolution is a cheaper and more flexible alternative to litigation. It involves a range of different processes, such as negotiation and mediation, that target disputes before they escalate.
The length of the ENE process varies depending on the complexity of the dispute and the availability of the evaluator. However, like most alternative dispute resolution, it is often quicker than litigation.
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