Mediation

With the future of a $9 billion revenue stream at state, NFL owners and players have turned to mediation for help in finding common ground.  Representatives of the two sides met with Mediator George Cohen for 8 hours on March 1 at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in Washington, D.C.  After 9 months of infrequent and contentious bargaining sessions, the bargaining teams are now meeting face-to-face in an effort to stave off a player lockout and its dire financial consequences – to players and owners alike. The Collective Bargaining Agreement was scheduled to expire on March 3, but the parties have agreed to extend the agreement to give mediation a chance to work.  High stakes indeed — football fans are holding their collective breath!  For more on the NFL mediation see the full article here.

Stephen Lagoy

Steve Lagoy is a partner in the Pennsylvania 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 mediator, contact Steve Lagoy in our West Chester office.

By: Stephen Lagoy

In the face of the rising tide of mortgage foreclosures, mediation programs in three Ohio counties are having very positive results.  Foreclosure mediation initiatives in Warren, Greene and Montgomery Counties differ in the processes by which services are provided.  However, they are all court-related and they share a common result – successful foreclosure avoidance.  The programs focus on initiating and facilitating communication between borrowers and lenders.  That factor is pointed to by participants as key to the programs’ successes.  To read more about the Ohio experience, see:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/mediation-preventing-many-local-foreclosures-1049983.html

Stephen Lagoy

Steve Lagoy is a partner in the Pennsylvania 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 foreclosure mediator, contact Steve Lagoy in our West Chester office.

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.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

Not surprisingly, the crash of Continental Flight 3407 on its approach to Buffalo, N.Y. on February 12, 2009 has spawned lawsuits by the families of the 45 passengers, four crew members, one off-duty crew member, and one person on the ground, who died in the crash. The lawsuits have been filed against Colgan Air; Pinnacle Airlines; Continental Airlines, the company under whose name Colgan was flying; and Bombardier Aviation Services, maker of the Dash 8 Q400 twin-engine turboprop. Recently, U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, who recently became the chief federal judge in Buffalo, assigned four local mediators to attempt to resolve the claims of the families of those killed. Mediation has been used extensively in Buffalo’s federal court since October 1995, when 400 lawyers came to the courthouse in hopes of clearing a logjam of 118 civil cases.

For more on the lawsuits the mediators will try to resolve, see http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf

Please contact Stephen P. Lagoy for more information.

By: Stephen P. Lagoy

Mediation has become an increasingly common approach in resolving elder disputes, including such issues as inheritances and care-giving. Advantages of mediation over litigation in the elder context include controlling costs, maintaining the confidentiality of private family disputes, and maintaining family relationships. It is important that the mediator selected be be familiar with elder issues. For more on this topic, see this article in the Wall Street Journal.

Should you need help resolving an elder dispute, please contact Steve Lagoy in our West Chester, PA office or David Frees in our Phoenixville, PA and Malvern, PA offices. We are experienced in the mediation of elder issues including inheritances and care-giving.