Process Overview
How It Works
The mootness determination process has five steps. We have followed them in every one of our 14,207 cases. We find consistency reassuring. We believe you will too.
Filing
Either party may file. You do not need the other party's agreement, signature, or awareness. In 78% of our cases, only one party knows the filing has occurred.
You will be asked to describe the dispute, identify the parties (pseudonyms are acceptable), and indicate how long the dispute has been ongoing. We ask for duration because we find it useful. We have found, consistently, that the filer underestimates it.
Acknowledgment
You will receive an acknowledgment. The acknowledgment confirms we have received the filing. It does not tell you what happens next, in the sense of providing a timeline or outcome preview.
What happens next is the review period. But we have found that telling filers this in the acknowledgment creates expectations about the review period that the review period cannot satisfy, because the review period is not a review in the active sense.
The Review Period
Ten to fifteen business days. During this period, the filing rests. We do not contact you. We do not request additional documentation. We do not convene a panel.
Periods exist because institutions have periods. The review period allows both the filing and the filer to arrive at the determination with appropriate procedural weight behind them. Many filers report that the review period itself is clarifying. The waiting, it turns out, was part of the service.
The Determination
The Declaration of Mootness is issued. It is final. No appeal is accepted that is not itself declared moot, which all appeals are.
The determination is one of three types: Moot (the dispute has no remaining referent), Conditionally Moot (moot pending a future event we will monitor), or Referred (we have never issued this). You will receive written notification of the determination with a brief explanation of the basis for mootness.
The Certificate
Both parties receive a Certificate of Mootness. If only one party filed, only one party receives it. The certificate includes the case number, the parties (as provided), the duration of the dispute, and the formal declaration.
It is printed on good paper. It is stamped. It has no legal standing. It is suitable for framing. Approximately 2,300 of them are framed. We find this number meaningful, though we have not been able to explain precisely why.
Average time to determination: 12.4 business days. All 14,207 disputes declared moot.