A Monetary dispute is a very simple controversy: The only thing that is at issue is the value of the money. That means that these disputes usually do not involve merits, the question "who is right" is not at issue. Rather, monetary disputes are most akin to bargaining for a mutually acceptable result.
Monetary Disputes most are common in insurance disputes where an insurance company is contesting the value of the lost goods, or it is not clear whether the customer is at fault too. In such disputes, finding an agreeable sum for both parties is the biggest challenge.
A monetary dispute may also arise in car accidents and other negligient incidents where there is no contest as to the Facts but litigation is to be avoided.
Blind bidding systems were initially created with the purpose of mixing game theory with dispute resolution. The idea is that creating a detached and neutral environment would lead disputants to adress the dispute on the merits, rather than their feelings.
Game theory comes in when the participants set up their bids. As the name indicates, bids are blind, meaning that both parties set their bids before they see any bid from the other party, and the bids are not disclosed unless agreement is reached. This system is meant to insure that no party uses its superior bargaining power or skill to trump the other party. Instead, both parties can evaluate before the discussion what they are willing to pay/accept.
A variation of the system is visual bidding. The process again starts with both parties entering an optimistic first proposal. However, that proposal is then disclosed to the other party to define the bidding range. The system then generates some proposals that fall within the range, and adds proposals by the parties. While the value of all proposals is visible, whether the proposal is made by the system or a party and whether the other party has accepted a certain proposal remains undisclosed.
The system also uses an algorithm that favors the party that first makes an acceptable proposal by shifting the balance of an eventual agreement into that party’s direction. By doing so, the system seeks to promote agreement and provide a less tactical approach than is taken in many blind bidding systems.
Smartsettle in particular offers a complex software with a wide array of functions. It is possible to show "satisfaction graphs", build in tradeoffs when multiple issue are concerned etc. Visit this link for a demonstration of the basic parts of the system.
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