  We show that the S-wave $\eta N$ scattering length can be extracted in a
model independent way within the scope of the multichannel model, but with the
restricting assumption that only one resonance is included per partial wave.
One has only to use the information on $\pi N$ elastic S-wave T-matrix at the
$\eta$ production threshold, and near threshold $\pi^{-} p \rightarrow \eta n$
total cross section. The results are independent of the particular
parametrization of the elastic T-matrix and of the number of channels. For the
described model the unitarity requires that the number of channels must be at
least three. These assumptions are more general then the assumptions of the
existing single resonance models up to now used for extracting the $\eta N$
S-wave scattering length. The agreement of our approach with former estimates
is anticipated and confirmed for all cases for which the input data agree with
the commonly accepted values.
