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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Facing 131 lawsuits filed by alleged victims of clergy sexual abuse, the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware filed for bankruptcy in October 2009. In a breaking development that signals a desire by both sides to resolve the disputes quickly, the Diocese and abuse victims are reported to have agreed to submit the cases to mediation. Philadelphia lawyer/mediator, Thomas Rutter, has been proposed by the parties to mediate and bankruptcy Judge Christopher S. Sontchi is expected to approve Rutter next week.
For more on the Delaware diocese clergy abuse controversy and how the parties hope to resolve it through mediation see: delwareonline.com article.
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.
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.
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.
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