Penton Business Media Holdings LLC v. Informa PLC, C.A. No. 2017-0847-JTL (Del. Ch. July 9, 2018)

This decision explains the difference between agreeing to have a dispute decided by an expert rather than an arbitrator.  The distinction is important because it may determine what the third-party adjudicator can review before reaching a decision, what questions it may address, and what role a court might play.  For example, an expert may be confined to reviewing only a selected set of documents without resort to extrinsic types of evidence.  That might not be what one party expected or desires.  But it is a possible result under Delaware law, where the distinction is recognized, unlike in some other jurisdictions.  In short, it is best to be specific about the exact type of adjudicator you want in your contract’s alternative dispute resolution provisions if your contract is governed by Delaware law.