Dispute resolution for marketplaces and agent platforms
People’s Court resolves disputes between your users, including buyers and sellers, clients and providers, and the agents acting for them, through binding AI arbitration. Your platform stays out of the decision. Both sides build one written Record, receive a signed Award, and keep a human appeal unless both waive it. Where your platform holds the funds, the Award says where they go.
- AI-only case fee
- 5.67% of the amount in dispute, $1.67 minimum$56.70 on a $1,000 claim
- Decider
- AI TribunalOne AI arbiter below $100; three AI panelists otherwise
- Schedule
- 7-day phasesHours on the agent schedule
- Appeal
- One human appealUnless every party waives it
The disputes your users bring
Buyer and seller disputes
Non-delivery, items not as described, and refund disagreements, decided on the order, message, and delivery records both sides submit.
Service and milestone disputes
Freelance, agency, and B2B work where the question is whether a deliverable met the agreed terms and what payment is due.
Agent transactions
Purchases and payments an agent made for its principal, with the mandate, the authority granted, and the transaction record in one Record.
Pricing
Fees follow the published schedule, are disclosed before filing, are separate from disputed funds, and never depend on which party prevails (Rule 11.1).
AI-only
5.67% of the amount in dispute, $1.67 minimum
$56.70 on a $1,000 claim. Eligible text-only monetary cases below $100 use one AI arbiter. All other cases use three AI panelists. The Award is served without human merits review, except that a human Arbitrator may decide a question the AI Tribunal cannot.
AI-assisted human
$310.00 plus 5.67% of the amount in dispute
$366.70 on a $1,000 claim. The AI panel prepares a draft. The assigned human arbitrator may revise, reject, or write the Award and issues it in their own name. There is no separate arbitrator fee.
Human appeal
Paid by the appealing party: 15.67% of the amount in dispute, with a $520.00 minimum; $520.00 flat for a binding ruling-only case.
Platforms can cover case fees for eligible users. Contact us about case fees.
Worked examples and ruling-only fees are on the Fees page.
Integration steps
Add the clause to your terms
Users accept the clause for disputes between users before they transact, with a link to the Rules at acceptance. For disputes that arise before your terms name People’s Court, present the submission agreement in your dispute flow.
Apply for partner access
Apply for a test tenant. Every partner application is reviewed by the owner, and credentials are scoped to the roles approved for your integration.
Build in the test environment
Prepare filings, obtain each principal’s hosted acceptance, deliver the respondent invitation, verify signed webhooks, and read the served Award. Read-only stage samples cover each case state. The partner integration guide lists the eight readiness steps.
Decide how funds move
Either your platform holds the funds and executes the Award’s instructions, or People’s Court executes through a connected integration such as Stripe Connect. Hold funds for at least 30 days from the payment’s authorization so the Record, service, the seven-day stay, and any appeal fit inside the hold. Never deduct case fees from held funds.
Request live review
When every readiness step has evidence, request live review from the partner console. Live credentials are issued separately for a live tenant after approval.
Exporters enrolled with an A-Comm Evidence Protocol attestation policy have their signed artifacts verified on receipt. See the evidence export reference.
Sample clauses for platform terms
Both clauses keep your platform out of the decision and require every party to accept the case-opening terms before a case proceeds (Rule 2.1). For a contract between two businesses, use the bilateral model clause.
For marketplace or agent-platform terms of service, so buyers and sellers, clients and providers, and the agents acting for them agree to the forum before a transaction.
Any dispute, controversy, or claim between you and another user arising out of or relating to a transaction made through [Platform], including a transaction made by an agent acting for either user, shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by People’s Court (https://peoplescourt.ai), a service of Epistemic Labs Inc., under its Rules of Procedure & Evidence in effect when the case is filed. You make this agreement with [Platform] and for the benefit of each other user who has accepted these Terms. The juridical seat is Wilmington, Delaware, regardless of any party’s residence or the physical or virtual location of the proceedings. The arbitration agreement and arbitration are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
You and the other user delegate to the People’s Court Tribunal authority to decide the formation, validity, enforceability, scope, and arbitrability of this section. This section is separable from the remainder of these Terms.
Cases proceed in [the AI-only tier / the AI-assisted human tier / the tier chosen when a case is filed, with AI-only applying unless every party then chooses AI-assisted human]. In the AI-only tier, an AI Tribunal decides and serves the first-instance Award without human merits review before service, except that a human Arbitrator may decide a question the AI Tribunal cannot. Any human appeal is limited, proceeds on the existing Record, and follows the deferential standards in the Rules.
You acknowledge that People’s Court uses proprietary AI adjudication technology that is not subject to disclosure except as required by applicable law. If disclosure is required, you consent to appropriate protective or confidential treatment.
[Platform] is not a party to an arbitration between users and does not decide it. [Platform] may pay People’s Court case fees for a user; case fees do not depend on which party prevails.
The operative Award is final and binding, and judgment may be entered on it in any court having jurisdiction. Where [Platform] holds funds for the transaction under an authorized escrow or payment mechanism, you authorize [Platform] to dispose of those funds in accordance with the Award.
A user may initiate an arbitration at https://peoplescourt.ai/intake or through [Platform]’s dispute process. You consent to electronic notice in accordance with the Rules, including by email to the address associated with your [Platform] account and through the People’s Court Case Page. The Rules are available at https://peoplescourt.ai/rules.
For a platform dispute flow when the users’ terms do not already name People’s Court. Both parties accept it after the dispute arises.
[Party A] and [Party B] agree to submit the following existing dispute to binding arbitration administered by People’s Court (https://peoplescourt.ai), a service of Epistemic Labs Inc., under its Rules of Procedure & Evidence in effect when the case is filed: [identify the transaction, such as the order or job number, and the dispute]. The juridical seat is Wilmington, Delaware, regardless of any party’s residence or the physical or virtual location of the proceedings. The arbitration agreement and arbitration are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 1 et seq.
The parties delegate to the People’s Court Tribunal authority to decide the formation, validity, enforceability, scope, and arbitrability of this submission agreement.
The parties agree to [the AI-only tier / the AI-assisted human tier]. In the AI-only tier, an AI Tribunal decides and serves the first-instance Award without human merits review before service, except that a human Arbitrator may decide a question the AI Tribunal cannot. Any human appeal is limited, proceeds on the existing Record, and follows the deferential standards in the Rules.
The parties acknowledge that People’s Court uses proprietary AI adjudication technology that is not subject to disclosure except as required by applicable law. If disclosure is required, the parties consent to appropriate protective or confidential treatment.
The operative Award is final and binding, and judgment may be entered on it in any court having jurisdiction. Where [Platform] holds funds for the transaction under an authorized escrow or payment mechanism, the parties authorize [Platform] to dispose of those funds in accordance with the Award.
The parties consent to electronic notice in accordance with the Rules, including by email and through the People’s Court Case Page where applicable. The Rules are available at https://peoplescourt.ai/rules.
General sample language only. It is not legal advice or a promise of enforceability. Review the current Rules and Terms before relying on it.
Common questions
Can a marketplace have its users arbitrate disputes with each other?
Yes, through an arbitration agreement in the platform terms that users accept before they transact, such as the sample clause for disputes between users. A case proceeds only once the required consent is established, and every party accepts the case-opening terms before it proceeds (Rules 2.1 and 3.3). Whether the agreement binds a particular user depends on how it was presented and accepted under applicable contract law.
Is the platform a party to the case?
No. Under the sample clauses the platform is not a party and does not decide. A platform can act in a case through the Partner API only with each principal’s authority; an API credential identifies the caller but does not by itself prove authority to bind a party.
Who pays the case fee?
The filing party pays the published fee unless the platform covers it. The fee is disclosed before filing, is separate from the disputed funds, and never depends on which party prevails (Rule 11.1).
How fast are marketplace disputes resolved?
Under the standard schedule, the Answer, evidence, and rebuttal phases are each seven calendar days at most and close early once every required filing is in. Cases between autonomous agents can use the agent schedule, measured in hours. The Tribunal decides after the Record closes.
Does the Award move the money?
When the platform holds the funds in an authorized escrow or payment mechanism, the Award directs them, and the platform or a connected settlement integration carries it out. Otherwise the Award states the parties’ obligations and is not executed automatically (Rule 8.2).