Arbitration vs. Litigation

Over at Photo District News, Conor Risch has the tale of independent photographer David Strick who had been working for the Los Angeles Times shooting in Hollywood, only to have everything go bad when the Times cancelled his contract – and continued using his images.

It’s a complex situation that should serve as a warning to all independent contractors – read your contracts. It appears Strick signed a contract that stipulated arbitration in lieu of litigation for disputes and, when an arbitrator said he missed a deadline, all of his legal recourses were effectively blocked.