The Court of Appeal speaks again: Gore v Naheed

By David Watkinson, Garden Court Mediation. In May this year I blogged about the case of Thakkar v Patel [2017] EWCA Civ 117 as an example of a case in which the Court of Appeal was encouraging parties to mediate their dispute or face serious cost consequences [Mediation? “Get on with it” says the Court of Appeal].

Legalising Mediation

Ireland has taken a significant step towards bringing mediation within the remit of its statute book. The Mediation Bill 2012 which emerged from Ireland has now been superseded by its Mediation Bill 2017 and sets out a statutory framework for the future of mediation. Just because it’s a Bill, does not mean mediators have to be […]

Mediate your Dispute!

Most people who find themselves in a dispute want to find a solution as quickly, cheaply and easily as possible. Litigation is rarely that solution: disputes can take over parties’ lives and the cost is high, in terms of money, time and wellbeing. Whatever the value or the complexity of the dispute, it is likely […]

Refuse to mediate? “How very dare you”.

“How dare you suggest mediation?? Why should I? Don’t you know the other side is blatantly in the wrong?” This is what parties in dispute sometimes say. The hike in court fees hasn’t necessarily made mediation more appealing. The Court is however continuing to communicate its disapproval of a party’s conduct where it ignores or refuses a request to mediate. Master Simons made […]

PGF applied again – Don’t ignore a request to mediate!

In a case for rent arrears of £6,000 and other claims on both sides, the legal costs amounted to £100,000 on one side and £85,000 on the other (NJ Rickard Ltd v Holloway & ors, CA (Civ Div) 03/11/15 unreported).  The word disproportionate springs to mind.