Recently, I participated on a panel on Mediation Confidentiality sponsored by the Southern California Mediation Association. As many of you are aware, the California Supreme Court has very strictly interpreted the mediation statutes in California Evidence Code Sections 1115-1128 to the point of repeatedly holding that there are no exceptions [Read More]
On February 19, 2015, CBS published the following story. It is so intriguing that I reprint it in full: An unusual lawsuit in Utah is raising eyebrows among some legal and financial experts: A woman is suing herself in a wrongful death case Earlier this week, the Utah Court of [Read More]
In the context of a marital dissolution proceeding, is there (or should there be) an exception to mediation confidentiality (California Evidence Code section 1119) for financial disclosures “prepared for the purpose of” and used “in the course of … the mediation?” (Evidence Code section 1119). This is the issue that [Read More]
When parties are having a dispute, no doubt, they probably think in individualistic terms; that is; me against her, or one vs. one. In reality, most disputes usually involve more than one person on each side, be it partners in a business, partners in a marriage or other domestic relationship, [Read More]
Recently, the Kluwer Mediation Blog posted an interesting discussion about the cognitive biases at play during a dispute. What caught my interest is that the author- Charlie Irvine- used the example of driving to make his point. In his blog entitled, “What Mediators Know (Or Can’t Help Noticing) about Conflict" [Read More]
In disputes involving money, the usual scenario is that the plaintiff wants more money than the defendant is willing to pay. So, they go to a mediator who nudges the plaintiff to accept a little less and the defendant to pay a little more. The adage is that a settlement [Read More]
My first mediation of 2015 settled based on pragmatism. It was a lemon law matter filed under California's Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act - Civil Code Section 1792 et seq. Plaintiff purchased the vehicle from a neighbor somewhat on a whim, thinking she would use it for commuting. Unfortunately, Plaintiff [Read More]
Just before Christmas, Travelers Commercial Insurance Company ("Travelers") submitted its brief in opposition (Travelers reply 3.pdf ) to that submitted by the Southern California Mediation Association ("SCMA") as amicus curiae on the issue of mediation confidentiality. In its amicus curiae brief, SCMA queried whether the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals should [Read More]
