Mediation

By: Nancy Glidden

Pennsylvania’s Mediation Statute protects from the discovery process, communications occurring during mediation, and also documents that are created during mediation.  A few limited exceptions to confidentiality are identified in the Statute, which exceptions apply in circumstances where there are:

• Later legal proceedings to enforce a mediation agreement
• Felonious threats of bodily harm or damage to real or personal property
• Fraudulent communications relevant in an action to enforce or set aside a mediation agreement
• Documents that exist independent of a mediation

Unless one of the above exceptions is present, the protection afforded mediation communications and documents, is generally regarded as sacred within Pennsylvania’s state court system.

Mediation confidentiality is less clear within the federal court system.  Some federal districts observe a federal mediation privilege by applying Federal Rule of Evidence 501, while others do not.  The Third Circuit has not addressed the question of a federal mediation privilege.  The ADR Act of 1998, mandated district courts offer at least one ADR option, and promulgate local rules addressing the confidentiality of the ADR process.  As an example, the Western District  of Pennsylvania crafted a local rule that provided for a presumption of confidentiality, but permitted the use of a balancing test to determine whether, in any given circumstance, the benefits of preserving confidentiality were outweighed by the benefits of requiring disclosure.   In Gatto v. Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc. the use of such a balancing test resulted in a mediator being subpoenaed to testify.  Following Gatto, the local rules for the Western District were amended to provide greater confidentiality protections.

Confidentiality is an essential component of mediation.  Mediators must therefore be always mindful of confidentiality issues, and be ever vigilant to protect and preserve the confidentiality of the mediation process.

Nancy Glidden

Nancy Glidden is an attorney at Unruh, Turner, Burke and Frees, Nancy practices in the areas of Pennsylvania mediation and arbitration. The firm maintains law offices in Malvern, Phoenixville, and West Chester Pennsylvania which serve the Main Line, and many surrounding communities such as Devon, Exton, West Chester, Ardmore and others.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

A judge in Bonner County, Idaho has appointed a mediator to attempt to resolve a first-degree murder case.  Unbelievable?  The judge’s action was in response to a joint motion made by the County Prosecutor and the defendant’s attorney.  The mediator will be paid with public funds.  The case involves a theft-related shooting death near Coolin, Idaho in January, 2007. The victim died of a .22-caliber gunshot wound to the face.  The defendant and his former wife fled the region after the shooting and were tracked to Fort Myers Beach, Fla. They were arrested several months after the slaying and were charged with first-degree murder and grand theft by possession of stolen property. The latter offense stemmed from a $56,000 escrow check that belonged to the victim.  The ex-wife has pleaded guilty to second degree murder.  If the mediation is not successful, an eight-day trial is anticipated.

For more information, contact Stephen P. Lagoy.

Watch attorney Steve Lagoy, a professionally trained mediator, as he explains some of the benefits to business of the mediation process.

Why is mediation helpful? Mediation is both cost efficient and a time saver for all the parties involved in a dispute. With both parties setting the terms of the mediation as opposed to the Court, the disputing parties can determine where and when the mediation will take place. Mediation can also preserve already established business relationships, whereas those relationships are often irreparable when a case is decided in a jury trial.

For more information, please contact Steve Lagoy in our West Chester, PA office at 610-692-1371

Watch Attorney Stephen Lagoy as he explains the qualities of a good mediator.

What are the qualities of a good mediator? A good mediator listens intently, understands human nature, and withholds evaluative judgment. A good mediator lets the mediation process unfold. A good mediator is patient.

For more information on how mediation can help you to resolve a family, business or other conflict, call Stephen Lagoy at 610-692-1371 or contact him at slagoy@utbf.com.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

The Texas Rangers own the longest winning streak in the major leagues this year (eleven) and currently have a healthy lead in the American League’s West Division.  Success on the field has not translated to financial bliss, however.  The Rangers’ present ownership filed for Bankruptcy in May to complete a sale of the club to a group headed by Rangers’ president and Hall of Fame pitcher, Nolan Ryan.  Now, the proposed sale has been postponed by Bankruptcy Judge D. Michael Lynn who has ordered the parties to continue mediation to try to resolve opposition to the proposed sale by creditors who lent $525 million to the present ownership.  Given baseball’s July 31 trade deadline, the postponement could impact the Rangers’ ability to acquire players from other teams for an anticipated pennant run. 

For more on the role mediation will play in the Rangers’ bankruptcy, see the article from Bloomsberg Business Week.

For more information contact Stephen P. Lagoy.

Watch this video, the second in a series, in which Steve Lagoy explains what mediation is and why you or your clients should consider using this facilitated negotiation process to resolve your legal conflict.

Attorney Stephen P. Lagoy is a partner in Unruh Turner Burke & Frees with offices located in West Chester, Malvern and Phoenixville, PA. Contact Steve Lagoy for more information on how you may benefit from the experience of a trained mediator.

Watch Steve Lagoy in this short video as he explains why you and your clients should use mediation to settle a legal dispute.

Individuals and corporations should consider using mediation as a way to resolve disputes outside of the courts.   In this short video, Attorney Stephen P. Lagoy describes what mediation is and how you can use mediation to solve a dispute without the time and expense of the judicial system.

Steve Lagoy is a partner in the law firm of Unruh Turner Burke & Frees, PC with offices in West Chester, Malvern, and Phoenixville, PA. For more information on how Steve Lagoy could assist you as an independent third party mediator, contact Steve Lagoy in our West Chester office.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

One of the advantages of a mediated resolution over a litigated verdict is that the former is more likely to mitigate tensions while building understanding and trust.  For parties who desire to preserve a future relationship with their adversary, mediation provides the basis for resolving future disputes and supports an ongoing relationship.  Mediation is also much better equipped to deal with underlying interests which on the surface may not appear to be related to the dispute at all but, in fact, are critical to resolution.  These attributes of mediation make it particularly suitable for resolving family business and estate disputes.  Issues such as sibling rivalry and jealousy (which may never see the light of day in a jury trial) are all part of the mix in a family business or estate mediation.

A good example of mediation at work is the case of Pennsylvania fantasy artist Frank Frazetta.  A dispute among his children reached fever pitch in  December when Frazetta’s son, Frank Frazetta Jr., was caught using a backhoe to break into the artist’s museum in the Poconos. Police say he tried to remove 90 paintings insured for $20 million. Frazetta Jr. insisted he was attempting to safeguard the art from his scheming siblings.  The dispute over the artist’s estate, the value of which is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars, spawned lawsuits in Pennsylvania and Florida as well as criminal charges against Frank, Jr.  The family members submitted the dispute to mediation and recently announced that they had reached a resolution of the dispute and had agreed on a cooperative strategy for the future.  This positive result would have been unthinkable had the lawsuits proceeded to trial and verdict.

For more on the Frazetta family dispute, see Allentown, PA Morning Call.

For more information on mediating a family business or estate dispute, contact Stephen Lagoy.

By: Stephen P.  Lagoy

The parties to a dispute arising out of an “Embryo Adoption Agreement” have agreed to submit their case to mediation.  The fate of two frozen human embryos hangs in the balance.  Pursuant to the agreement, the donor couple provided four embryos to a reproductive center, two of which were implanted in the uterus of the donee mother in May 2009.  Two babies were born in January 2010.  The donee mother now wants to repeat the process with the remaining two embryos, but the donor couple wants to regain custody of them.  All parties to the dispute are Catholic and regard the embryos as children.  Although lawsuits have been filed in both St. Louis, Missouri and Alameda County, California, the parties hope that a mediator will help them reach an out of court settlement and can resolve the religious, moral and ethical questions their situation presents.  For more on the unusual issues the mediator will have to address, read the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

For more information, contact Stephen Lagoy.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

Mediators are called upon in a variety of contexts – business, family, injury, labor to name a few – to help resolve difficult disputes.   The recent death of a 40 year old trainer at SeaWorld has given rise to a unique mediation issue.  The family of Dawn Brancheau obtained an injunction from a Florida court prohibiting the release of video footage of Ms. Brancheau’s death after she was pulled into the water by an orca whale in front of a shocked audience at SeaWorld.  The Florida court has now ordered mediation to weigh the Brancheau family’s privacy concerns against the public’s right to know under Florida law.  For more on the issues the Florida mediator will address, see National News headlines.

If you would like to know more about how mediation can help you resolve business, estate and family disputes while avoiding or minimizing litigation, call mediator Stephen Lagoy.