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MANDATORY MEDIATION EXPANDED
(March 2001)
by Del Elgersma
The BC government has greatly expanded the
scope of court actions to which mandatory
mediation may apply. Under the new rules,
any party to a Supreme Court action can make
an assessment that mediation would be productive,
and then require the other parties to attend
a mediation session. In some cases, mediation
can be faster, less costly and less confrontational
than a trial.
The only civil actions that do not
allow
for mandatory mediation are family
law cases
and actions involving compensation
for physical
or sexual abuse. The process was initially
limited to motor vehicle actions, where
it
was used in over 3,000 actions since
1998.
In 71% of those cases, all issues were
resolved.
While the notice to mediate process
makes
attendance at a mediation session mandatory,
it does not require people to settle
their
dispute: parties can still choose to
go to
trial if mediation fails.
If you have any questions, please call us.
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