Mediation, An Alternative to Litigation and Arbitration

Mediation is an increasingly popular process for resolution of construction disputes for a variety of reasons. Resolving construction disputes with the usual methods of litigation and arbitration can prove costly in terms of time, money and emotional stress. Mediation provides an alternative for contractors, owners, developers, design professionals, and others who are dissatisfied with arbitration or litigation process as a means to resolve their construction disputes. In addition, experience has proven to many individuals that arbitration is not always a low-cost alternative to litigation in dispute resolution.

The process of mediation is one in which the mediator opens avenues of communication between the disputing parties. The mediator, without deciding the issues or imposing a solution on the parties, facilitates an understanding which allows the parties to reach a mutually agreeable resolution to their dispute. The mediator seeks to help the parties to reach an acceptable resolution based on their own ideas of what that resolution should be. A mediator does not pass judgment and so will not render an opinion as to the proper legal result of a particular dispute.

Mediation may be used in resolution of claims or conflicts between disputing parties at any point of the claim process. It can occur prior to the filing of a more formal court or arbitration process or prior to trial. Mediation allows for minimization of legal costs, a gain in control in the decision-making process, and a reduction of emotional stress. Business relationships suffer less damage because mediation provides the most rapid process for full and final resolution of disputes.

Mediation offers the possibility of a quick resolution

Disputes quite often have a negative impact on timely project completion, in addition to negative financial impact when costs accrue on a daily basis. The extensive legal preparation necessary for successful litigation tends to lead parties down a path that may not prove to be the most advantageous approach. Mediation gives disputing parties a voice in the process and also presents the possibility of a quick resolution, unlike waiting for court dates. If you find yourself in a construction dispute, mediation offers you and the other party, with or without your lawyers present, the opportunity to find solutions for problems more quickly than would happen in the courts or arbitration. In a fraction of the time and expense of litigation, mediation allows you and the other party with the help of an impartial mediator to gain control in the outcome and obtain a fair solution to your construction dispute.

DiJulio Law Group
https://www.dijuliolawgroup.com