Hussmann: Early intervention can provide desired effects
For those of us in the dispute resolution business, “desired effects” — justice — must remain an important component of the outcome if the system is to be perceived as fair and useful.
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Articles
Price: A look at the past, present and future of mediation
Whether experience will show one “model” prevailing or whether we have an environment where mediation is an amalgam of each type driven by the circumstances of the case, one thing is beyond dispute: Mediation is here to stay.
Neutral Corner: Recent appellate case raises mediation issues
The recent Indiana Court of Appeals decision Jonas v. State Farm Life Ins. Co., ____N.E. 3d ______, 2016 WL 1248589 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016) highlights several issues concerning mediation and settlement in both state and federal courts.
US Supreme Court ruling affirms class waivers in arbitration clauses
In today’s marketplace, consumers have a choice when purchasing such things as cellphones, banking services and even medical procedures. Sign the contract and get the product. Don’t sign the contract and don’t get the product.
Keyes: An alternative alternative dispute resolution process
The components of structured negotiation are not new; people resolve problems every day without resorting to litigation. But now the process has been better defined, refined and expanded.
Funding, use of ADR in family law cases varies in courts around state
Rensselaer lawyer Samantha Joslyn has handled family law cases filed at the Jasper County courthouse and in several surrounding counties in northwest Indiana. She said whether those cases will be mediated depends in large part on the court where the case is filed.
Comment sought on state court e-filing, other rule changes
The Indiana Supreme Court is seeking comments on proposed rule changes that include appellate e-filing and CLE exemptions for judges and attorneys in the military.
Indiana’s 6 commercial courts set to begin June 1
Six commercial courts handling specialized dockets of business cases were announced Wednesday in an order of the Indiana Supreme Court.
High court: DirectTV can cut off class-action lawsuit
The United States Supreme Court ruled Monday that satellite provider DirecTV can avoid a class-action lawsuit in California over early termination fees and force customers into private arbitration hearings instead.
Sweeping changes in HOA laws aim for dispute resolution and transparency
Condo conflicts and HOA hostilities can often result in lawsuits and sometimes incredulous headlines. Lawyers have seen disputes arise over everything from where bikes can be stored to whether a condo owner could install hardwood floors.
Neutral Corner: Mediation communications in legal malpractice actions
The legal malpractice case of Cassel v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County, 244 P. 3d 1080 (2011), continues to ricochet through the California mediation community and court system, and the issue it raised is now headed to the Legislature.
Brown: Can the gladiator make peace?
It is the concept of the peacemaker that so clearly expresses the role of the mediator.
Terzo: Arbitration is viable alternative in family law disputes
It wasn’t until the 1990s that arbitration began to be seriously considered for family law cases. At that time there was no statute specifically directed to family law arbitration, and Indiana had no caselaw regarding family law arbitration. Our current statute, I.C. 34-57-5-1, et seq, was enacted in 2005. It answered many of the questions attorneys had.
Method to the mediation
When “reason leaves the room,” an analytical approach can lead a path to dispute resolution.
Project targets elderly in high-conflict families
Steuben County is a test site for a new eldercaring coordination program.
Neutral Corner: Admitting mediation communications in bad-faith actions
Are statements, offers and demands made during a mediation admissible in a bad-faith case? This issue is presently pending before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and is being watched by many in the mediation community with the hope it will clarify to what extent exceptions will continue to be created to the mediation confidentiality statutes.
Johnson County ADR program sees uptick in caseload
Every day, a program in Franklin works with families struggling with divorce, custody battles and child support disputes. The goal is to help resolve arguments, get cases through the court system faster, and help families move on.
Neutral Corner: Use of mediator’s proposal should be a last resort
Mediation got an early and strong foothold in California in the late 1980s and that state has been an incubation site for several trends in the mediation process – some good, some bad and some perhaps a little ugly.
Dealing with differing perceptions of reality
Mediators say parties don’t always see facts the same way, but a “truth rule” could harm the confidentiality of the process.
Trimble: Avoiding and dealing with pessimism in mediation
By John C. Trimble Trimble All of us who attend or conduct mediation on a regular basis soon come to realize that pessimism is one aspect of mediation that occurs in every mediation session. We learn that if we let pessimism cause us to quit, we would never settle anything. However, pessimism on the part […]