Indiana Supreme Court justices reversed a determination that a guardian was required to arbitrate claims against a screening company arising from an employee’s sexual assault on a resident of a Carmel assisted living facility.
Speaking with reporters via Zoom on Thursday, Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush acknowledged that despite efforts to keep courts operating remotely as much as possible, judges will face the difficult task in 2021 of working through COVID-created backlogs and getting their dockets back on schedule.
As the uncertainty continues over how many struggling Hoosiers could be evicted in the coming months, the Indiana Supreme Court is trying through the new Landlord and Tenant Settlement Conference Program to prevent housing loss and all the bad ramifications that can ensue by inviting landlords and tenants to first have a conversation.
After hearing oral argument on petition to transfer Sept. 24, the court must now decide if it will rule in a dispute filed by an elderly woman and her representative against the Carmel assisted living facility where the woman once lived and an independent contractor hired by the facility who is accused of raping her.
One alternative dispute resolution option to consider during the pandemic is expedited arbitration. Both the American Arbitration Association (AAA) and the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution (CPR) offer an “expedited” or “fast track” option for dispute resolution that truly accelerates the proceedings.
The Indiana Court of Appeals has reversed the denial of an estate’s motion to compel arbitration against a nursing facility after concluding that the Indiana Medical Malpractice Act does not apply in the case.
The Indiana Supreme Court is launching a new mediation program to help stem the anticipated flood of evictions by facilitating settlement agreements between tenants facing eviction and landlords trying to collect rent.
A woman who was awarded half of a $122,000 stock account held by her former husband after the couple entered into a mediated divorce settlement agreement that didn’t mention the account was stripped of that share of the stock account on appeal Wednesday. However, a dissenting judge would have affirmed the grant of money to the ex-wife.
The Indiana Supreme Court has issued orders amending rules of the court, some of which concern juror privacy and public access to juror questionnaires and discovery of certain insurance settlement information in mediations.
When the ugly weed of hate and division sprouted at the Bloomington farmers’ market last summer, it highlighted deeper conflicts in the college town and launched a community-wide mediation to address longstanding issues of discrimination and bigotry.
Nearly every legal function has transitioned to a virtual format during the COVID-19 pandemic, and mediation is no exception. But the concept of online dispute resolution was gaining traction even before “coronavirus” was an everyday word.
Recent data suggests owners, architects, contractors and others involved in the construction process are gravitating toward alternative dispute resolution. Mediation, in particular, is emerging as a preferred – and in many cases, required – option.
The legal guardian of an elderly woman housed at a Carmel assisted living facility could not convince the Indiana Court of Appeals on Tuesday that she should not be compelled to arbitration after bringing breach of contract and negligence claims against the facility for allegations of sex abuse.
The Indiana Supreme Court is seeking comment from the bench, bar and public on several proposed amendments to various Indiana court rules.
Despite our continued interest in litigation, we are here to report that we certainly like what we have found in and are open to future possibilities in alternative dispute resolution. We have also come to recognize that just because our interests lean toward litigation does not mean that we will not encounter and utilize skills such as negotiating that maybe are not seen as being traditionally within a litigator’s area of expertise.
Parties cannot be ordered to participate in alternative dispute resolution in small claims proceedings, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Thursday, reinstating a dog-bite case that an Indianapolis judge had dismissed after litigants refused to participate in court-ordered mediation.
In the field of alternative dispute resolution, diversity appears to be making fewer gains than in the legal profession as a whole. A 2018 article in the ABA Journal reported that, generally, studies show women comprising around 20% of the national ADR field. Similarly, American Bar Association Resolution 105 calls dispute resolution “arguably the least diverse corner of the profession.”
Mediation results in a settlement more than 85% of the time. However, getting to “yes” is hard work — especially for the mediator. While we lawyers do a great job of advocating in mediation, we could do more to make the process more productive, and perhaps improve the likelihood of settlement, by focusing on developing the mediator’s agenda in advance of mediation.
Your client wants to bring a nonparty friend/significant other/family member to mediation, but you worry that the presence of a nonparty will allow opposing counsel access to the substance of your mediation-related communications with your client. Is this worry justified?
Although I’ve been at this law thing for a while and have mediated cases over the last 10 years, I always find value in hearing about the experiences and strategies of others who have accumulated the awareness and wisdom of playing peacemaker on a regular basis.