Representative Arbitrations

Shawn Aiken

During the past 30 years, Shawn Aiken has served as mediator or arbitrator in well over 1,000 commercial cases, involving claims arising out of business torts; breach of contract, including especially real estate and corporate and transactions, license, and franchise agreements; construction and development projects; legal and accounting malpractice; and, claims in the areas of insurance, health care, and employment.


Representative arbitrations include:

Closely-Held Entities

  • Several cases involving members, managers, co-venturers, shareholders, officers, and directors arising out of contract, fiduciary duty, and statutory duties involving legal and equitable remedies, including dissolution, dissociation, receivership, injunction, and accounting
  • Arbitrated $30 million dispute between partners over development of residential project (Panel)
  • Often arbitrated joint-venturers' and members' competing claims of breach of fiduciary duty and contract (express and implied covenant) including application of business judgment rule and other aspects of corporate governance
  • Over the past 5 years, arbitrated three disputes over buyout price and terms for physician's interest in LLC under terms of operating agreement
  • Arbitrated professional firm's and former member's claim for breach of operating agreement, including buy-sell provision, claimed failure to pay redemption price for member's interest, misappropriation of trade secrets, and data theft
  • Mediated and arbitrated disputes among law firm members over treatment and status of personal injury clients, including arbitration award determining value of interest of departing member of firm
  • Disputes in the cannabis industry, including terminations of purchase agreements; breach of purchase agreements; disputes over post-closing provisions; performance of management agreements; and, multi-million dollar disputes over sales agreements, among other issues
  • Matters involving claims for oppression remedies, including control of derivative claims, reinstatement of employment status, forced buy-out, and threatened dissolution
  • Arbitrated claim for equalization payment on dissolution of partners' company operating behavioral health facilities
  • Arbitrated deadlock between co-venturers over terms of dissolution of entity formed to develop raw land on tribal land; under joint venture agreement, arbitrator selected one party's last, best offer and, in final award, resolved numerous other disputes over dissolution rights and winding up of venture's affairs
  • Arbitrated co-venturers' dispute over withdrawal of members and dissolution of nutraceutical enterprise, including supervision of wind-up (settlement of loan, assignment of tax losses, preparation of final tax return, etc.) and entry of wind-down order

  Other Commercial Disputes

  • Arbitrated to final award over 160 commercial matters, including, for example --
  • Disputes seeking interim relief and final award concerning claims and defenses to enforcement of non-solicitation and other restrictive covenants (e.g., employees, former and current customers, non-disclosure, non-disparagement, confidentiality)
  • Multi-million dispute among current and former members over division of proceeds of sale of large group medical practice to national private equity firm
  • Claim for commissions payable by, for example, former employer on purchase orders generated by sales representative; payment to beneficiaries of estate on sales commissions in telecommunications industry;
  • Dispute over "best efforts" provision and payment of commissions on worldwide sale of armored vehicles
  • Dispute over sale of dental practice, including claimed breaches of post-closing restrictive covenants
  • Over the past 20 years, many cases arising out purchase and sale of businesses, including, for example, transportation, accounting, restaurant, and other industries
  • Case involving inter-tribal dispute over gambling rights licensing agreement (Panel)
  • Dispute arising out of settlement agreement between real estate co-venturers
  • Disputes involving claims of usurpation of corporate opportunity
  • Over past 20 years, resolved in final award numerous applications for award of attorneys' fees in final arbitration awards, resolved issues including allocation for partial success; application of 'genuine obligation to pay' fees requirement; assessment of prevailing party under controlling statute and contractual fee provision; entitlement to award of fees under controlling agreements, American Arbitration Association R-47(d), and A.R.S. § 12-341.01(A); bases for measure of reasonableness, including lodestar; effect of redacted time entries; and, many other related issues
  • Dispute over agreement for purchase of water company and transfer application to Arizona Corporation Commission (Panel)
  • Dispute between largest local hospital group and national insurer over reimbursement for inpatient hospital services to patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plan
  • Over the last 15 years, dozens of consumer cases brought under both the American Arbitration Association Commercial and Consumer Arbitration Rules, including matters in the automobile sales, banking, credit card, telecommunications, academic testing, ride service, and other industries, raising issues such as individual liability for corporate credit-card charges, consumer fraud, amount charged for transportation service, and loan account disputes
  • Accredited investor's claim for losses stemming from purchase of units and claim for fees and costs (under indemnity provision of subscription agreement) related to District Court jury trial and appeal to Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (Panel)
  • Arbitrated charter school's fraud and implied covenant claims against educational software publisher for failure to adhere to Arizona's state educational standards (objectionable religious content)
  • Arbitrated disputes between multiple franchisees and franchisor in the hospitality and home products industries
  • Chaired arbitration arising out settlement agreement for declaratory relief; and, multi-million dollar claims for  liquidated damages, actual damages, and attorneys' fees
  • Dispute between Fortune 50 companies in the defense research and manufacturing industry involving liability for repairs and capital improvements to leased commercial property
  • Dispute over division of revenues and other management disputes between tribal nation and developer arising out of construction of the Grand Canyon Skywalk
  • Multi-million-dollar dispute over loss sustained by major nursery and claim under crop insurance policy
  • Claim for losses sustained by cotton operation in central Arizona and denial of coverage under multiple peril crop insurance policy
  • Coverage for wrongful death arising out of accident involving transportation fleet vehicle (Panel)
  • Claims for misappropriation of trade secrets and data theft in cases arising out of terminated employment agreements
  • In family law matters, served as special master, for example, liquidating commercial real estate; mediated value of community-held business; and, assessed and negotiated disposition of interest in partnership formed by husband and wife during marriage