Why Mediate?
“What I have found profoundly unsatisfactory…is that the parties have spent in the region of £100,000 arguing over a claim which is worth about £6,000…mediation is a perfectly proper adjunct to litigation…the results are astonishingly good. Try it more often” per Lord Justice Ward Egan v Motor Services (Bath) Ltd [2008] 1 WLR 1589 para 53
Risk of refusing to mediate
The courts will not force parties to mediate, though they strongly encourage it in order to keep everybody’s costs to a minimum. Parties are, however, required by the Civil Procedure Rules to consider Alternative Dispute Resolution. Where parties unreasonably refuse to engage in mediation the court often penalises that party in costs. This can be very significant – even the winning party can be penalised in costs if he or she failed to mediate without reasonable excuse. For more information on the court’s approach to failure to mediate click here.