Mediation A Texas Resolution

In 1987, Texas passed the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act which is now found in Chapter 154 of the Texas Civil Practices and Remedies Code. This Act introduced formal mediation to the State of Texas. Since that date, mediation has been used to resolve countless disputes between citizens, businesses, and governmental subdivisions of the State of Texas.

What is mediation? Mediation is a forum and process in which an impartial person, called the mediator, encourages and assists parties to a dispute to reach a settlement or resolution of that dispute between themselves. The mediation may be ordered by the court or through voluntarily participation by the parties to the dispute. Where the parties have retained attorneys to assist with the dispute, the attorneys participate in the mediation with their respective clients.

The mediation process in Texas is strictly confidential. Unless the parties agree, the statements of the parties, their conduct, demeanor, and their legal and factual positions may not be disclosed to anyone by the mediator. This rule encourages the parties to be entirely forthcoming with the mediator during the course of the mediation.

The mediator is not there to impose a decision on the parties. Even if the mediator is a licensed attorney, the mediator should not provide the parties with any legal advice or make ultimate judgments on the potential outcome of the dispute if it were to go to trial or arbitration.

Mediations are usually held in private and without any public fanfare. Most court cases are public record, and typically hearings or trials will be open to the public. Mediation allows the parties to settle their disputes quietly.

Mediation allows the parties, instead of a judge, jury or arbitrator, to reach a resolution of their dispute on terms that are acceptable to them. Note the term, “acceptable”, as many mediations actually result in outcomes in which one or more of the parties reach settlement terms that are not necessarily a “win”, or what they would want if the case had to be litigated. Mediation involves the parties negotiating to reach an acceptable outcome rather than fighting one another in an expensive and time-consuming forum to potentially achieve a win-lose or sometimes lose-lose outcome.

The mediator tries to use specific methods and techniques to assist the parties in reaching a settlement. For example in resolving a business dispute, it may seem necessary for one partner to end up with the business while the other ends up with the monetary value of his interest in the partnership. Looking at the dispute in that fashion is an example of an evaluative method of resolving disputes. “Horse-trading” is another example of an evaluative method of resolving disputes, and focuses on reaching an outcome in the most direct manner. Much of the time this technique works well to resolve simple disputes where the sum of the whole is equal to its parts, and those parts must be divided up to settle the case.

However, if the mediator delves deeper into the backgrounds of the parties, the origin of the disputes, and the motivations of each party to become involved in the dispute, many times it becomes clear that the mediator has more to deal with than simply dividing up ownership and money. A facilitative method can be best described as an attempt to find a resolution which has mutual benefits for all parties. Under the facilitative method the mediator looks for subtle undertones of the dispute. Those subtleties usually require the mediator to delve into areas that on the surface may not seem to have any direct relevance to the dispute.

In our example, the mediator may find out that one of the partners is a really good business person, while the other may be really good with the manufacturing of the good or the generation of the service which makes up the business. The mediator may find out that the two partners were once best friends, who but for the dispute (which may or may not have anything to do with the business), no longer can operate all parts of the business together. Under the facilitative approach, the mediator will attempt to repair the relationship, and try to find a resolution which may allow the parties to stop fighting each other and go back to work in their respective areas of strength for the benefit of the business and themselves as its owners.

Clearly, these are extremely simple examples. But a good mediator will always look at several methods and techniques of dispute resolution in order to determine which methods or combinations will achieve a positive result.

Since its inception, mediation has been a positive process for litigants in Texas. It has helped reduce the case load of our courts and saved millions of dollars for the participants involved. Just about any type of dispute can be mediated. From disputes between countries, NFL quarterbacks and commissioners, divorces, collection suits, and just about any other type of disagreement, mediation can be a tool to save money, time, and public scrutiny.

1. Scott Alagood is board certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Commercial and Residential Real Estate Law. Scott may be reached at [email protected] or www.dentonlaw.com.