Zela ''Zee'' G. Claiborne, Esq., a full-time neutral since 1998, specializes in the resolution of complex domestic and international business disputes. As both a mediator and arbitrator, Ms. Claiborne is held in the highest regard by counsel for her exceptional listening skills, fairness, calming influence when diffusing volatile situations, and ability to reconstruct fractured business relationships.
As a mediator, Ms. Claiborne is known for being tenacious in order to achieve settlements. As an arbitrator, she is known for her managerial style as well as for her fairness and approachability. She has extensive experience acting as sole arbitrator as well as chairing and serving on tripartite panels in arbitrations of all types.
ADR Experience and Qualifications
- Since starting her career in ADR in 1998, she has successfully mediated and arbitrated thousands of cases covering the following areas: business and commercial matters, construction, engineering and infrastructure, employment, energy, intellectual property, professional liability, and real estate. Many of her cases are international.
- Nationally and locally recognized as a top mediator and arbitrator, with accolades such as “Best Lawyer, Alternative Dispute Resolution Category,” Best Lawyers in America, recognized as a “Super Lawyer in Mediation and Arbitration,” San Francisco Magazine, and recognized as a leading practitioner, Alternative Dispute Resolution Category, Who's Who Legal: California.
- Continually called upon to chair and speak at arbitration trainings around the country, such as the ABA Arbitration Institute and programs of the College of Commercial Arbitrators.
- Recognized as a Distinguished Fellow in the College of Commercial Arbitrators (Board of Directors).
Representative Matters
Business and Commercial Disputes
- Disputes between general partners of a venture capital firm involving claims of breaches of contract and fiduciary duties and alleged damage to reputation (sole arbitrator)
- Arbitration of claim arising out of an incubator relationship with patent-holders for development of a sensor used in medical and other scientific applications; allegations include failure to prepare prototypes and ready the invention for commercialization (sole arbitrator)
- Mediated resolution of dispute between Chinese company supplying agricultural products and U.S. purchaser and distributor
- Settled dispute arising out of an Asset Purchase Agreement involving the purchase of IP for high performance computing storage
- Mediated resolution of a dispute between joint venture partners from the U.S. and India regarding the development and commercialization of a global M & A database related to the oil and gas industries
- Arbitration of international dispute arising out of a Stock Purchase Agreement between companies in Spain and the U.S. involved in the electronic tolling industry (tripartite; chair)
- Mediated resolution of dispute between owners of a cannabis business in Washington State
- Successful dissolution of a partnership involved in the edible cannabis business
- Mining dispute between a company dredge mining for gold and another mining aggregates from dredge tailings arising out of contracts setting forth the parties' rights on shared property (tripartite)
- Dispute arising out of a Stock Purchase Agreement involving the sale of a business that tests integrated circuits and other electronic components for use in high profile applications such as aircraft navigation and braking systems, nuclear control rod systems, and military equipment. Allegations against the seller included a failure to disclose defects in the testing software (sole arbitrator)
- Arbitrator for claims for monetary damages and injunctive relief arising out of a licensing agreement for computerized software for dialysis treatment and management (tripartite)
- Settled a dispute between a semiconductor business and a digital video company concerning their respective obligations under a Tax Sharing Agreement
- Mediated dispute arising out of an Equity Purchase Agreement involving firms working on government contracts for drone development; the parties disagreed about potential earn-out payments due when various EBITDA targets were reached
- Mediated government contracts dispute between companies providing IT services to Air Force bases
Construction
- Mediated settlement in New York of a contractor's multi-million dollar claim for fees arising out of construction of a major East coast airport
- Claims by a national laboratory involving a contract to remediate soil contaminated with hazardous wastes and chemicals, including radioactive isotopes
- Mediated resolution of tunneling dispute arising out of construction of a downtown subway system
- Mediated dispute between shareholders resulting in successful buy-out of all shares of a prosperous construction company
- Tripartite arbitration of a dispute arising out of a multi-million dollar contract for work related to construction of a deep foundation system for a $1.5 billion mixed-use development in Florida. Handled substantial discovery and pre-trial motion issues, leading to “eve of trial” settlement
- Mediated a multimillion-dollar claim by contractors against a public entity arising out of a micro-tunneling operation to install new storm water and sewer lines under a river and an airport runway
- Mediated $2 million claim by WBE contractor against the State of California Department of Transportation arising out of a highway pipeline rehabilitation project
- Mediation of $200 million in claims between a public owner and a joint venture contractor arising out of a tunneling project for the conveyance system of a wastewater treatment plant; work involved use of a slurry tunnel boring machine and claims included breach of contract, differing site conditions, and defective specifications
- Arbitration of multi-million dollar infrastructure dispute by contractor relating to design, fabrication, and erection of structural steel racking and process piping arising out of oil refinery construction (tripartite, Chair)
Employment
- Arbitration of claims of discrimination based on race and national origin and retaliation brought by a software engineer against a well-known social media company (sole arbitrator)
- Mediated resolution of trade secrets dispute between providers of smartphone applications for mobile security arising out of the termination of employment of an executive
- Mediated resolution of dispute arising out of the termination of employment of an executive. Claims included misappropriation of trade secrets and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage between competing providers of smartphone applications for mobile security and safety services sold to various carrier networks.
- Mediated resolution of a disability discrimination suit involving a city employee
- Wrongful termination and gender/race discrimination claims by former employee of large international drug and medical device company
- Claims of wrongful termination by geotechnical engineer against soils engineering firm
- Pharmaceutical sales representatives’ claims of wrongful termination allegedly in retaliation for complaints about the employer’s marketing strategies and for age discrimination
Energy
- Mediated settlement of a dispute involving alleged breach of a Supply Agreement for Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) between a waste disposal company and a cement manufacturer
- Solar energy dispute between two large east and west coast utilities involving four 25 year PPA's relating to handling curtailments and better compliance with CAISO requirements
- Arbitration of claims for oil and gas royalties (sole arbitrator, Baseball arbitration)
- Successful mediation of a dispute between a county and an alternative energy provider arising out of contracts for landfill gas-to-electricity projects
- ICC arbitration of dispute between Spanish and U.S. contractors arising out of construction of a 205.8 megawatt single-axis tracker solar power plant including 3.1 million photovoltaic solar modules at the US-Mexico border (tripartite)
- Dispute among investors regarding plans to construct biogas facilities
- Negotiation between North American and international solar companies involved in building solar photovoltaic facilities generating a total of 700 megawatts regarding terms for sharing rights of way and infrastructure for transmission lines in the U.S.
- Arbitration of multi-million dollar infrastructure dispute by contractor relating to design, fabrication, and erection of structural steel racking and process piping arising out of oil refinery construction (tripartite, Chair)
- Claims of breach of a Power Purchase Agreement between a power company and a renewable power project developer (wind, solar, geothermal, biomass)
- Mediated settlement of a multi-million dollar dispute between a utility company and a developer arising out of a PPA
Environmental
- $20 million claim by golf course owners against an international chemical company arising out of claims for environmental damage after application of an herbicide that became the subject of an EPA Stop Sale Order (sole arbitrator)
- Mediation of a dispute involving a failure of erosion control and fines assessed for water pollution arising out of a highway construction project
- Mediated Prop 65 claims against manufacturers and distributors of products for pool and spa testing kits with an indicator solution alleged to cause cancer, DEHP in ear phones, and DINP in vinyl/PVC gloves
Health Care
- Arbitration involving alleged breaches of an Exclusive Distribution Agreement between an international developer of healthcare products and a US biopharmaceutical company that focuses on kidney disease (tripartite, Chair)
- Arbitrator for a contract dispute between a large insurance carrier and a group of hospitals
- Mediation between a health care company and a group of surgeons and anesthesiologists arising out of discussions about how staffing would be handled at a proposed new surgery center
- Mediated a claim by an elderly resident with no insurance against a non-profit retirement community over the terms of a Continuing Care Agreement
- Chaired an arbitration panel for a dispute between and national medical device manufacturer and a national pharmaceutical company involving licensing claims to certain worldwide patents for cardiac stents, with rights valued at approximately $4 billion
Insurance
- Arbitration of a multi-million dollar claim by an insurance company underwriting the business of third party administrator of extended warranty plans for consumer electronics (sole arbitrator)
- Disputes involving construction of residential and commercial buildings with underlying coverage issues related to alleged defects and/or negligence
- Cases involving time on risk and contribution as well as demands by additional insureds
- Cases involving alleged bad faith refusal to defend
- Coverage disputes involving property damage to a variety of structures and whether the damage was covered under existing policies
- Mediated and arbitrated numerous cases involving the sale of life insurance and retirement policies by a major insurer
- Successful resolution of claims related to title insurance regarding wrongful foreclosure and alleged title company errors
- Claims against surety for failure to pay under construction performance bond
- Coverage claims related to environmental contamination
- Disputes related to Directors and Officers Liability Insurance
- Claims related to allocation of defense costs among insurers
Intellectual Property
- Mediation of dispute arising out of an OEM Agreement involving alleged misappropriation of trade secrets regarding development of software used for automatic software testing ("scriptless testing")
- Arbitration of claims by large school district arising out of a licensing and services agreement for complex software developed to centralize educational records and track all students and programs (tripartite)
- Mediated patent infringement case regarding claim by a U.S. company against a semiconductor manufacturer in Taiwan involving a technique for optimizing the operation of core logic chipsets
- Trademark infringement dispute between a publisher of video games and an international designer/manufacturer of military helicopters
- Multi-million dollar claims of infringement of 8 patents related to pay-for-performance advertising between two of the leading web based companies
- Chaired the arbitration panel for a dispute involving licensing claims to certain worldwide patents for cardiac stents, with rights valued at approximately $4 billion
- Mediated case involving software piracy claims, alleging copyright and trademark infringement, brought by well-known international software company against a distributer
- Sole arbitrator for claims of breach of Strategic Alliance Agreement and misappropriation of trade secrets involving a manufacturer of commercial building automation systems and a provider of wireless distribution systems
International
- Mediation of dispute between a supplier and installer of solar systems and a Taiwanese supplier of inverters
- Selected as chair of a tri-partite ICC arbitration arising out of a Purchase Agreement involving a dispute over which company is responsible for payment of taxes levied by a South American country. Case settled after extensive pre-hearing discussions among the parties.
- Dispute between one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies based in Switzerland and a California manufacturer of hard drives arising out of a Master Development Agreement and a series of Product Supply Agreements
- Mediated to resolution a dispute between companies in the US and China involving claims of copyright infringement and misappropriation of trade secrets arising out of alleged unauthorized use of a software system used to manage government subsidies
- Sole arbitrator for an arbitration of claims by a US designer and manufacturer of high-end bicycles against a distributor in Norway
- Sole arbitrator for an international dispute by a designer and manufacturer of semiconductors against a Hong Kong distributor regarding claims for payments due for products ordered for the Chinese market
- Mediated settlement of claim for delays and defects against general contractor brought by Chinese developers of high-tech facility
- Sole arbitrator of a dispute arising out of a Stock Purchase Agreement involving the sale of an international business that tests integrated circuits and other electronic components for use in high profile applications such as aircraft navigation and braking systems, nuclear control rod systems, and military equipment; allegations against the seller included a failure to disclose defects in the testing software
- Arbitration involving licensing claims to certain worldwide patents for cardiac stents, valued at approximately $4 billion (tripartite; Chair)
- Sole arbitrator for a licensing dispute between Canadian and U.S. companies arising out of an international marketing agreement regarding recreational installations
- Mediation of $200 million in claims between a public owner and a joint venture contractor (American and European companies) arising out of a tunneling project for the conveyance system of a wastewater treatment plant
- Arbitration of a multi-million dollar dispute between international companies involved in the electronic toll collection business (tripartite; Chair)
Professional Liability
- Resolution of a multimillion dollar legal malpractice claim brought by the developer of communities for seniors against a leading California law firm
- Successful resolution of legal malpractice claims against a prominent law firm alleging conflicts of interest in a client representation
- Legal malpractice mediation involving alleged erroneous advice regarding tax consequences of a charitable contribution
- Arbitration venued in New York that involved an accounting malpractice case brought by a Liquidation Trust claiming over $100 million in damages arising out of the allegedly negligent audit of an international company in the business of selling televisions. Allegations included the failure to discover millions of dollars in fabricated sales to China (tripartite)
- Dispute between general partner and limited partners involving indemnity for fees and costs arising out of professional liability suit against real estate appraiser (tripartite)
- Claim against accountant and large stock brokerage firm for damages due to alleged erroneous advice regarding the tax consequences of donating stock to a charitable foundation
- Sole arbitrator for suit by liberal arts college against a hedge fund manager alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and fraud
- Mediated a legal malpractice claim brought by a start-up company in Hawaii and its Chinese investors against patent counsel over failure to adequately protect various worldwide patents for a data communication system
Real Estate
- Selected by a federal judge to mediate a land use dispute between an American Indian tribe and a State pursuant to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)
- Mediated resolution of consolidated cases related to beachfront property in Hawaii valued in excess of $20 million between general, limited partners, and a third party purchaser over the disposition of the property and potential land purchaseArbitrated a $500,000 claim by tenant involving a tax credit project at a national historic preservation site and the landlord’s counterclaim for $10,000,000 for alleged breach of the 40 year lease
- Mining dispute between a company dredge mining for gold and another mining aggregates from dredge tailings arising out of contracts setting forth the parties' rights on shared property
- Mediated resolution of a real estate dispute between landlord and tenant involving a large commercial property in Silicon Valley. The claims arose out of lease provisions providing for options to extend the lease and/or to purchase the property and structure the transaction as a tax-free exchange
