Mediation – Property Dispute Case Study

A dispute over property management involved sums in excess of €200,000. The disputing parties were keen to resolve the matter but because of the sums involved, the dispute was heading for the High Court with legal fees set to run to tens of thousands of Euros with significant risks for the losing side.
The parties agreed to resolve their differences by mediation as an alternative to litigation in the courts.
The date for the mediation was set up within a matter of weeks (1 day was sufficient), the mediator agreed between parties and the parties invited to compile a 1 page submission (restricted to 1 page by the mediator) to the mediator.
The parties had private meetings with the mediator on the morning of mediation and agreed that a plenary session (both parties and mediator meeting together) would not be helpful to resolving the process.
Many of the most significant issues were resolved on the day leaving some minor issues to resolve after the mediation to bring the matter to an agreed settlement. The total cost of the mediation was less than €5,000 (this included hiring of meeting rooms) and this was divided equally between the parties.