Civil Issues
Examples of civil matters include a claim of a
personal injury resulting from an automobile accident, a fence-line
improperly placed on someone else's land causing a dispute over
property rights, a cow escaping through the broken fence and into
the path of an oncoming vehicle, the collapse of playground equiment
resulting in injuries to a group of children...
When a civil disagreement arises between people,
groups or businesses, the affected parties must decide how they
want to resolve things. Civil discord generally starts with an
event that causes one party to believe that he or she has suffered
injury -- physical, emotional or both. The "injured party"
makes demands on the other party by claiming that the "wrong"
can only be made "right" though the payment of money
("damages"). Unless the affected parties remain reasonable
in their discussions, both sides usually dig in their heels, "pride"
and "principle" transform the issues into intractable
positions, and the situation continues to deteriorate
until the injured party, the Plaintiff, files a lawsuit against
the other party, the Defendant, and everyone ends up heading for
Court.
But the gamble of going to trial doesn’t pay off
for most plaintiffs. According to a New York Times study
of more than 2,000 civil lawsuits filed from 2002 to 2005, sixty-one
percent of plaintiffs who turned down settlement offers fared
worse at trial, with the average trial award 12% lower than the
settlement offer.
A more reasonable way to resolve civil disputes
is Mediation, a process that the Court may Order you to try, anway,
although by the time the Judge orders you to mediation, each party
may have already spent several thousand dollars in attorney's
fees and court costs.
Doesn't it make sense to try Mediation first?
Mediation is a process that can help parties
reach an agreement of their own making, rather than putting their
fate in the hands of a judge or jury. In Mediation, a neutral
third-party facilitator, hightly trained in problem solving, meets
with the stakeholders and helps them open up effective lines of
communication. The mediator can help tone down distraught emotions
to bring parties to the table where they can discuss realistic
solutions to a seemingly impossible dilemma.
It’s important to remember that mediation is
a viable option before a lawsuit is filed. Parties who seek mediation
before a situation deteriorates into an expensive legal battle
tend to enjoy far better outcomes at far less cost, and are far
more likely to preserve the relationship than parties who litigate
and leave the matter to chance in the courtroom. Courts encourage
parties to mediate disputes, primarily for four reasons:
- the court system doesn’t have the resources to hold a trial in every civil case that is filed;
- often the parties reach a better result through
mediation than they do in court;
- people are often more satisfied with a mediated
resolution that one imposed by the courts; and
- mediating civil cases frees up the court’s docket to give judges more time to try more serious, complex cases.
If you find yourself in a civil dispute with another
person, business, organization or agency, take a moment to call
us. Your situation just might be the kind of case that could best
be mediated rather than litigated. We will meet with you at no
cost or obligation to discuss your options.
Whereas litigation tends to diminish your importance,
in Mediation -- it's all about You!
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