Issues that Cry Out for Early Mediation
By Sherman Knight.
There are many types of legal issues that cry out for Early Mediation. Some of these may be obvious, others you may need to think about.
- Where the claim is too large to ignore, but too small for extensive discovery.
- When the parties want to save their money.
- When a party just wants it over with. No trial, no appeals.
- When a party cannot afford the lost time of litigation
- When a party does not have the emotional strength to handle several years of litigation.
- When the parties cannot afford litigation.
- When the dispute is over something shared such as a property line, joint ownership of real and personal property and where the litigants will continue the shared item into the future.
- When neither party has the ability to recover attorney’s fees or there is the likely of not recovering attorney’s fees.
- When a party has skeletons they wish to remain hidden.
- When the parties want to maintain a relationship that are on the same side of the dispute.
- Neighbors.
- Business partner,
- Spouse, family and friends.
- Whenever the other side has a seemingly endless litigation budget, government agencies, insurance companies, etc.
- Commercial leasing – Landlord/tenant disputes.
- When one of the parties is looking for an apology.
- When one of the parties seeks something different than just money.
- Warranty issues on new construction. If the roof leaks, solve it now!
- Employee / Employer disputes where the employer wants to retain the employee or the employee wants to keep their job.
