Arbitration & Mediation

Representative Cases

As a former Superior Court Judge, Keegan Federal is uniquely experienced, and exceptionally qualified, to provide an efficient and cost-effective procedure whereby individuals and businesses are able to resolve routine as well as complex disputes quickly, and with confidence that the result will be fair, reasonable, and appropriate.  He has been a Certified Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association (AAA) for over 20 years, and he was one of three former judges retained by the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Service (JAMS) when it first opened its Atlanta office under the ADR pioneer, Judge Jack Etheridge. 

For the past 15 years, Keegan has been offering mediation and arbitration services independently from any organization, as an adjunct to his law practice.

Keegan is frequently called upon by other lawyers and judges, and often by business owners and/or their corporate counsel, to assist them in resolving disputes which appear to be headed toward expensive, time-consuming, traditional litigation with its attendant costs, delays, and unpredictable results.  Over 90% of all the cases he has mediated have resulted in settlements agreed to by the parties.  The following examples are only a few of the hundreds of cases which he has successfully mediated or arbitrated.

Arbitration; Executive Compensation; Employment Contract

On the eve of the trial of a bitter dispute between the president of a family-owned corporation and the shareholders/owners concerning the president’s claimed entitlement to a percentage of profits amounting to several million dollars, the Presiding Judge, at the request of all the attorneys involved, referred the case to Keegan Federal for arbitration.  After two days of evidence and argument, a 20-page decision was rendered by Keegan, supported by specific findings of fact and conclusions of law, and his decision was adopted and approved by the Court.

Arbitration; Medical Malpractice; Re-Insurance

After the plaintiff-patient had agreed to a multi-million dollar lump sum settlement with multiple defendants, the insurers of the various medical providers who had caused his permanent paralysis mutually agreed to retain Keegan Federal to chair a three-member arbitration panel to decide what percentage of the total lump sum settlement should be paid by which insurer, by allocating the percentage of fault among the various medical providers. The parties presented their case in only two days, thereby avoiding what would have been a very expensive two-week trial. The panel rendered its decision in only two hours. The companies involved saved themselves tens of thousands of dollars in attorneys' fees, and avoided the risk of an unpredictable jury verdict.

Mediation; Divorce; High Assets

The lawyers for a high-profile couple who wanted to avoid publicity regarding their divorce retained Keegan to mediate their settlement.  Over $35 million in assets consisting of stocks, retirement accounts, multiple family trusts, real estate holdings, and family businesses had to be equitably divided.  Keegan successfully guided the parties to an agreed-upon resolution of their financial claims.

Mediation; Local Government; Merit System; Public Officials

An Atlanta-area County Government had been locked in a bitter and time-consuming lawsuit with an entire County Department when the Judge finally ordered the case to mediation.  The various attorneys involved selected Keegan Federal as the mediator, and, after a marathon three-day session with the County Commissioners and the Department head and his staff, he succeeded in getting all parties to agree to a negotiated settlement of their differences.

Arbitration; Fraud; Finance (New York)

A nationwide financial fraud was discovered by an Atlanta lawyer who selected Keegan Federal to act as the plaintiff-group's advocate (as opposed to being an objective neutral) on a multi-party arbitration panel which held a series of hearings in New York. The procedure avoided an expensive and lengthy trial and resulted in a multi-million-dollar settlement on behalf of the plaintiffs.

Arbitration; Dissolution of Partnership

When a senior partner of a major accounting firm withdrew from the firm and disputed the terms of the Partnership Agreement concerning his entitlements, Keegan Federal agreed to arbitrate the issues for the ex-partner and the firm, and they avoided what would have been a very public airing of the dispute.

Mediation; Real Property (Airport); Easements

When common owners of a private airport disagreed among themselves, and filed lawsuits and counterclaims over certain routes of ingress and egress to the runways and their respective rights to use the airport, their attorneys asked Keegan Federal to attempt to mediate a resolution.  After only a one-day mediation session which included seven different parties, a mediated agreement was reached and the legal actions were all dismissed.

Mediation; Wrongful Death; Vehicular Homicide

The distraught parents of a college student who was killed by a drunk driver sued the driver and his employer for the wrongful death of their daughter.  As part of the negotiated settlement mediated by Keegan, and the recovery obtained by the parents, the insurance companies agreed to fund a memorial scholarship in the name of the deceased student.

Mediation; Airplane Crash; Multiple Deaths

Keegan was called on to mediate the claims of several families who had lost loved ones in the crash of a Valujet airliner in Florida.  Each claim involved assessing percentages of responsibility for the crash among various defendants, and applying appropriate legal principles to determine the amounts payable to each family by the insurers.  All of the claims Keegan mediated were resolved successfully, to the satisfaction of the families and the insurers.

Mediation; Divorce; Court-Ordered; Privacy

A very wealthy divorcing couple had been locked in a contentious legal battle for more than a year and were headed for a public trial which would include conflicting testimony regarding unorthodox sexual practices as well as questionable accounting issues.  Although both their lawyers were adamant that mediation would be a waste of time and money, the Presiding Judge ordered them to try.  They selected Keegan and told him it couldn’t settle, but that they were ordered to appear.  After a lengthy all-day session, Keegan succeeded in resolving all financial issues between the two parties and protecting their privacy.

Mediation; Franchises; Court-ordered

Keegan received an urgent call from a Federal Judge who was then on the bench presiding over an extremely acrimonious dispute between several franchisees and their out-of-state franchisor who was attempting to take control of the businesses claiming the franchisees were violating their franchise agreements and failing to meet mandated standards.  The judge was frustrated and asked Keegan to come to his courtroom that day to attempt to resolve the case through mediation.  After a marathon session which continued into the early morning hours in the court’s chambers, Keegan was successful in negotiating a complex but acceptable settlement agreed to by all parties.  (And the judge was grateful.)

Arbitration; Copyright Infringement; Catechism; Intellectual Property

Keegan was called to chair a three-member arbitration panel composed of ex-judges to resolve a dispute regarding the wording of a children’s catechism and prayerbook.  The Church synod had retained an author to re-write the book into more modern prose, but retained a new writer when the first one failed to meet certain deadlines.  An argument ensued regarding the use of the original text, common phraseology, copyright infringement, and the correct expression of religious doctrine.  Keegan’s panel of arbitrators drafted findings and conclusions and entered a ruling which was agreeable to all parties.

Mediation; Fire Loss; Insurance

When a brand new, very expensive residence was still under construction but almost completed, there was a fire which completely destroyed the structure.  Various claims were filed involving the allegedly responsible subcontractor, a solvent manufacturer, the general contractor, the lender, the owners, and several insurers.  The parties’ lawyers agreed on Keegan as the mediator, and all claims were satisfactorily resolved during two days of intensive mediation.

Mediation; Disability Insurance; Physicians

A highly-successful cardiologist suffered personal setbacks which precipitated ongoing periods of severe depression to the extent that, he contended, he was unable to pracrice medicine to the high standards he had previously set for himself.  When he filed for disability benefits with his disability insurance company, the company denied the application, contending that the physician was in fact able to practice and that his depression was treatable and manageable with medication.  The doctor filed suit, exhaustive discovery was pursued by both parties, and the presiding judge referred the case to mediation before proceeding to trial.  After a one-day mediation session, Keegan successfully negotiated a settlement for the parties and averted trial.

Mediation; Property Rights; Nuisance; Surface Water

A couple found and bought their “dream home” mansion in an exclusive country club residential development, only ro find soon thereafter that their next door neighbor was building a fence which blocked the sunlight and shaded the dream home’s pool area, and also was diverting the natural flow of surface water into a drainage ditch creating an unsightly and flood-prone culvert near the pool.  After neighbor-to-neighbor negotiations failed to solve the problem, lawyers were hired, expert engineers were retained, and a lawsuit was initiated.  Expensive discovery and a lengthy trial were avoided, however, when the lawyers took the case to Keegan, who mediated the case ro a resolution acceptable to both parties.

Arbitration; Insurance Coverage; Conflicting Policies

Keegan chaired a three-member arbitration panel of former judges who were called on to resolve a dispute between two insurance companies and their insured who had caused a major loss to a third party.  The hearing was convened in Savannah, GA , and after one day of receiving testimony, and reviewing the respective insurance policies, and the evidence regarding the underlying claim, the panel rendered its unanimous decision and the parties avoided a complex and expensive trial.

- additional sample cases available upon request