December 1, 2012
Landlord-Tenant BasicsThe Services
Mediation
Mediation is a voluntary and confidential process where both parties work to settle disputes through a third-party mediator. In many cases, it’s a win-win for both sides.
Here are a few things you may want to know about mediation:
- You’re not bound by anything at mediation unless both parties agree, and rules are in place to help make a settlement more likely. You can also sign an agreement that makes your mediation a binding contract that’s no longer confidential.
- Anything disclosed by either party to the mediator is confidential. This allows each party to speak freely with the mediator and to discuss their hopes, fears and rationales.
- From the mediator’s unique perspective, a discussion among the parties focuses on satisfying the interests of all parties involved with the goal of reasonable compromise.
- If you take your case to court, a judge or jury formulates the resolution of a dispute — in mediation, the dispute resolution is formulated by the parties who decided upon the outcome.
- If achieved, a mediated settlement is almost always faster, less expensive and makes the parties involved happier because the decisions were theirs.
- Please know, you always have the same right to a court hearing to seek resolution if mediation doesn’t work out.