Mediation is an alternative dispute process which allows parties in a dispute to reach a conclusion to their dispute without incurring the time, cost and stress of running the dispute all the way to trial.
Mediation is a ‘without prejudice’ process which means that everything that is said in the preparation for the mediation and at the mediation, cannot be referred to later on in the claim if the claim does not settle at the mediation. This gives the parties comfort in knowing that they are in a safe space and are able to talk more freely then they might perhaps ordinarily do so.
A mediation is hosted by a qualified Mediator and the process in the run-up to the mediation and on the day of the mediation can vary depending on the particular Mediator’s practice. What usually happens is that a neutral venue is chosen and all parties meet at the venue and start off the mediation with a meeting hosted by the Mediator. Then the parties go to separate rooms and the Mediator moves between the parties in their confidential rooms to make points on the case and try and broker a settlement.
At the end of the mediation, and presuming it is successful, a signed settlement agreement will be produced and signed by all parties bringing the claim to a conclusion.
When it is suitable to mediate a case? That’s the beauty of mediation, it is suitable for any stage in a claim from a dispute which is pre-litigation all the way up to a dispute where the trial is already in the Court’s diary.
Sarah has been to numerous mediations on behalf of insurance companies both pursuing and defending claims.
Sarah has reached a settlement in 100% of the mediations that she has attended for clients.
One example of a mediation and the flexibility that it can provide comes from a case study Sarah was involved in, pursuing the recovery of damages from an uninsured home owner. The claim was for a significant amount of money and the concerns were, regardless of the strength of the legal claim, that there was a risk of recovering no money as there was no insurance cover in place in respect of the liability of the neighbour. We did not know whether the neighbour would have the personal means to pay damages without insurance cover. At the mediation we were surprised when the neighbour’s insurance company attended. A settlement was reached at the end of the mediation with a sum of money being paid. At no point did we discover whether that was a payment from the neighbour or whether the insurer had paid part/all of the settlement.
That is one unique thing about mediations, given the confidential nature of what happens between the Mediator and each party, you can often leave not knowing what has actually happened. The focus therefore needs to be on achieving an acceptable result that the client can live with as an alternative to the dispute continuing to litigation.
Tree Law have details of recommended Mediators who can be recommended for mediating tree disputes
Tree Law is the trading name of Tree Law Ltd.
We are a firm of solicitors authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority – SRA number 822981.
