The Court of Appeal has recently re-emphasised the strong judicial support for Alternative Dispute Resolution.
In this particular case between a builder and a residential householder despite the builder being successful at Trial the Court refused to award the builder his costs. Throughout the litigation process the householder had made a number of reasonable offers and proposed mediation. The builder had not accepted any offers, refused to mediate and failed to make any offers of his own. Both the Court at first instance and the Court of Appeal decided that in these circumstances there was sufficient justification to depart from the usual rule that the “loser pays the winner’s costs” and refused to award the builder their costs.
This is a stark reminder to all litigants that no matter how strong their case, their feelings about a matter or their desire to have a day in Court it is important to engage in some form of Alternative Dispute Resolution before proceeding to a final hearing at a Trial before a Judge.
If you wish to discuss this or any other issue in respect of Alternative Dispute Resolution or mediation please do not hesitate to contact our Robert Anderson on 0113 245 0733.
