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Ed
Dec 4, 20195 min read

Delay, defeats justice, mediation decreases delay


Few people enjoy waiting, justice delayed (they say) is justice defeated. There was a discussion on BBC's Woman's Hour this week about how no one regards the delay or waiting time at court as a problem.

I beg to differ, everyone I’ve ever worked with who has a court case cannot stand the delays they face, whether in between hearings or at court itself. The pain caused by simply not being able to move forward is agony. In some mediations the delay by one side has added to the distrust felt by the other and has to be addressed in mediation.

It’s those delays and that pain which Northwest Mediation is able to help with, we’re quick and available generally at short notice and work weekends and evenings to fit around clients, rather than the court and legal system making clients fit round their timings.

There are a few things worth waiting for, the picture was from my visit in February to the Guinness Brewery in Dublin, and this black gold (actually dark red) is one of the few.

Sometimes however delay is necessary, Norfolk Southern Corporation rail’s content to wait for the conclusion of mediation with the good people of Pittsburgh’s North side in order to reach an agreement about work on the line to raise railway bridges to allow them to run “double-stacked” freight rail cars. Knowing how long the works to railway bridges in Stockport takes I can only guess at the amount of time it actually takes to raise the bridges as proposed.

The two sides want to discuss the raising of the bridges, the effect on pollution and noise of running extra tall services as well as the type of cargo carried and the general impact on the neighbourhood.

The Department of Transport have granted a $20m fund to the railroad and they want to use it to increase the level of two bridges, lower the bed of another and completely replace a fourth.


David Wolf for the Northside Leadership Conference said We’re here to come to a resolution…We’re not trying to be obstructionists. There may be some way to solve this in between what the railroad wants and what the neighborhood wants.” Adding a comment which anyone familiar with mediation may well recognise “One thing I always say about mediation is nobody’s going to hit a home run and be completely happy with everything.”

There have been complaints from some groups about the level of information available from the railway but that is also something with which mediation can also deal.

In other news (and after some delay) retired Superior Court Judge Raymond A Batten has been appointed as mediator in a case brought against New Jersey prosecutor Damon G Tyner.

The two former female employees allege Damon cultivated a “toxic” workplace with gender bias but both sides have agreed to try and find a resolution via mediation than suffer further delays in the tribunal process.

Delay in bringing cases of sexual assault is understandable but the delay caused by the bodies responsible for the abuse and the payment of damages is not.

Continental Insurance Co is arguing in the Rochester that their cover doesn’t extend to the damages for the children who were abused by the clergy and staff of the Diocese.

The complaint by the Diocese is “The Insurers have failed to acknowledge their full coverage obligations to (a) defend or pay for the defense of the Diocese and/or (b) indemnify the Diocese, including the funding of any past or future settlements or judgments, in connection with the Underlying Actions and Claims, despite the Diocese’s timely request that they do so.”

Lisa Passero diocesan chief financial officer has confirmed previously that whilst the diocese has assets of $68m they face over $100m in claims.

The insurer wants to remove the cases from the bankruptcy to be dealt with separately but the Diocese recognises that this will cause even more delay and now the bankruptcy judge himself, Paul Warren, has recommended the parties go to mediation to determine the issue.

Not waiting around is the New Jersey Bar Foundation who this year has awarded 10 mini grants of $500 each to schools to undergo peer mediation training.

Applications for next year’s grants need to be in for 17/4/2020, so get moving. I’m not sure there’s any similarly initiative this side of the pond. Although I’ve seen the growth of peer mediation in one form or another at both the schools our children attend this has been a teacher led initiative in both cases and not from with funding from any government or legal body.

As we’ve said before choose to mediate early and resolve your issues effectively, timeously, and with less stress and costs than going to your solicitor. You have an interest in the outcome the sooner you get round the mediation table the quicker you can move forward and avoid the grilling a cross examination in court would put you through.

By having a deep and meaningful discussions with parties the mediator elicits what the true “red-lines” are and where there is the potential for compromise, it is with this structured period of reflection that the parties are then able to reach an accord.

The flexible nature of mediation and the possible outcomes make it an ideal way to resolve disputes in an ever changing world and the open nature of discussions in mediation whilst remaining confidential allows all sides to engage fully in the process and understand the needs of all involved allowing parties to reach a conclusion which both sides can live with and move on.

There are so many situations which could have been resolved by early intervention of mediation it continues to surprise me the lengths the public (and some lawyers) will go to avoid referral.

Save time by choosing Northwest Mediation rather than fighting the case to court.

Whether you need a mediator to help out with a construction matter in the Northwest, or council’s plans in Cheshire, a civil mediator in London, a commercial mediator in Manchester, a dispute resolution for your family in Liverpool, a neighbourhood mediation in Stockport, then Northwest Mediation can help.

Mediation is cheaper, quicker and less stressful than running any case to court, it can help with any dispute whether it's an employment issue or the sale at an under value of a property, a fight with a neighbour, family issues (including MIAM/child arrangements), commercial disputes, civil mediation or inheritance, wills and probate arguments contact Northwest Mediation on 07931318347 or via email at ed.johnson@northwestmediation.co.uk

neighbour mediation; commercial dispute resolution; civil mediation; commercial dispute; corporate dispute; commercial mediator; family mediation; inheritance wills probate mediation; property mediator; civil mediator; civil litigation; fast track mediation; injury mediation

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