Originally from Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation

PAGE PREVIEW

In most court-ordered mediation programs it is fundamental to the procedure that all parties have a representative actively participate in the process with full authority to resolve the claim.

The U.S. District Court for Pennsylvania’s Western District has a robust alternative dispute resolution program mandating early participation in mediation, neutral evaluation, or nonbinding arbitration soon after the case is filed. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Policies and Procedures of the Court (available at https://bit.ly/3nMktrs) state in part:

2.7 Attendance at Session

A. Parties. Each party must attend the selected ADR process session unless excused under paragraph D below. This requirement reflects the Court’s view that the principal values of Alternate Dispute Resolution include affording litigants an opportunity to articulate their positions and to hear, first hand, both their opponent’s version of the matters in dispute and a neutral assessment of the merits of the case.