{"id":36192,"date":"2018-04-25T12:48:55","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T12:48:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?p=36192"},"modified":"2019-04-17T17:13:57","modified_gmt":"2019-04-17T17:13:57","slug":"its-time-to-expand-mandatory-mediation-in-civil-litigation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/its-time-to-expand-mandatory-mediation-in-civil-litigation\/","title":{"rendered":"It’s time to expand mandatory mediation in civil litigation"},"content":{"rendered":"


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After almost 20 years operating in just three jurisdictions, it\u2019s time to expand Ontario\u2019s mandatory mediation program across the province, Toronto mediator Victoria Romero<\/a> tells AdvocateDaily.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program is working, so I wonder why it hasn\u2019t been made consistent throughout Ontario. It\u2019s 2018,\u201d says Romero, principal of the mediation firm VR Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many more years have to pass before the government makes it available across the whole province?\u201d<\/p>\n

The mandatory mediation program began in Toronto and Ottawa in 1999, and in Windsor in 2002. It pertains to most civil actions under Rule 24.1 of the Rules of Civil Procedure<\/a><\/em>, and applies to estates, trusts and substitute decision matters under Rule 75.1.<\/p>\n

While mediation can still take place, family law cases are excluded from mandatory participation in the program, as are several other types of litigation, including mortgage actions, those falling under the Construction Lien Act<\/em> and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act<\/em>, certain\u00a0matters that were the subject of mediation under the Insurance Act<\/em>, lawsuits\u00a0certified under the Class Proceedings Act<\/em> and\u00a0those on the Toronto Commercial List.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe program was created with the idea of reducing the cost and delay in civil litigation and I think it has worked really well in these cases because the parties are mandated to participate. Sometimes that\u2019s what\u2019s needed,\u201d Romero says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re forced to sit at a table and talk, but they\u2019re not forced to settle. So, they still retain the right to do what\u2019s best for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says she agrees that mediation in family law matters should be voluntary, not mandatory, because of the special dynamics in such cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important because if there are issues of domestic violence or there\u2019s a power imbalance, one of the parties won\u2019t feel safe or comfortable and can\u2019t sufficiently negotiate. Why would you want to force them?\u201d says Romero.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn family mediation, there is always an intake process, where the mediator assesses if the case is good for mediation,\u201d she says. \u201cEven if both parties are willing, the mediator can still say no if they feel it\u2019s not a safe situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even the use of \u201cshuttle mediation,\u201d where the parties in a family law dispute sit in different rooms and the mediator moves back and forth during the negotiations, may not be appropriate if \u201cthe issues of domestic violence are so severe that it\u2019s not safe,\u201d Romero says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some cases that are not fit for mediation. But that\u2019s up to a professional mediator to assess.\u201d<\/p>\n

In civil litigation cases that don’t involve family, where there\u2019s a \u201cone-time interaction\u201d and the parties will never have to deal with each other again, mandatory mediation makes sense, she says.<\/p>\n

But in family law matters, the parties will often continue to have contact\u00a0\u2014 especially if children are involved\u00a0\u2014 and so they \u201creally need to be motivated in mediation. And if they don\u2019t want to settle, forcing them to sit at a table will only make things worse,\u201d Romero says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should use mediation in a way that serves each area of the law according to the nature of each dispute,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it makes sense that in family cases, it\u2019s voluntary and in civil litigation, it\u2019s mandatory.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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After almost 20 years operating in just three jurisdictions, it\u2019s time to expand Ontario\u2019s mandatory mediation program across the province, Toronto mediator Victoria Romero tells AdvocateDaily.com. \u201cThe program is working, so I wonder why it hasn\u2019t been made consistent throughout Ontario. It\u2019s 2018,\u201d says Romero, principal of the mediation firm VR Law. \u201cHow many more … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “It’s time to expand mandatory mediation in civil litigation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nIt's time to expand mandatory mediation in civil litigation - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/its-time-to-expand-mandatory-mediation-in-civil-litigation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It's time to expand mandatory mediation in civil litigation - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After almost 20 years operating in just three jurisdictions, it\u2019s time to expand Ontario\u2019s mandatory mediation program across the province, Toronto mediator Victoria Romero tells AdvocateDaily.com. \u201cThe program is working, so I wonder why it hasn\u2019t been made consistent throughout Ontario. 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