Nelson v. Erickson

¶1 In many civil cases, arbitration is mandatory. After arbitration, either party can request a full trial, but if it does not improve its position from arbitra*387tion, it has to pay the opposing party’s attorney fees. In this case, Michael Erickson requested a trial after arbitration, and the issue before us is whether he improved his position at trial. This is not as simple to resolve as it might seem because his position prior to trial was unclear. We hold that his position prior to trial should be interpreted as an ordinary person would. Applying that rule, we find Erickson improved his…