The arbitration program in the Middle District of North Carolina as it was evaluated in 1990 contained some innovative features: eligibility up to $150,00, inclusion of contract cases and random assignment to the program. The evaluation, conducted as a randomized experiment, looked at 210 arbitrated cases and 74 cases that were not arbitrated, all filed between January 1, 1985, and December 31, 1987. A survey of 276 attorneys and 132 litigants was also conducted. The study found that the arbitration program encouraged litigants to pursue their cases; that arbitration lowered the cost of litigation to the parties by about 20%; that the program's effect on the court's cost was inconclusive; that arbitration did not affect the time to closure for cases; that the arbitration did not change case outcomes; and that the program was well received by litigants and attorneys.