RE LEEDS COUNTY COURT (BUSINESS & PROPERTY WORK) CEDR MEDIATION SCHEME
You will know that there has been a recent focus, in the Court of Appeal and at the Civil Justice Council in particular, on alternative dispute resolution (ADR). The Leeds Business & Property Courts judges are keen to support ADR in appropriate cases, but are very conscious that, sometimes, the costs of mediation in particular may act as a deterrent to ADR.
The Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) has just launched what is intended to be a cost-effective mediation scheme. Details of the scheme can be found on CEDR’s website, at this address: www.cedr.com/commercial/mediationschemes/ccmc/.
The scheme is open to parties who have a Business & Property case in the County Court at Leeds, at the moment where the claim is a two-party claim and where the financial value of the claim is £100,000 or less. Mediations under the scheme will be conducted online by mediators on CEDR’s panel and will be limited to 3 hours. There is a fixed price, which covers the mediation, and the mediator’s preparation time and expenses. It is £540 (£450 plus VAT) per party. Requests to mediate in the scheme can be made by completing CEDR’s online form. https://www.cedr.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/CISAS-Application-Form-Oct-21-v3.pdf
There are of course other mediation providers who you and your colleagues will wish to consider for mediation services. Nevertheless, I hope that you and your colleagues who have Business & Property cases in the County Court at Leeds welcome the scheme as an option and will take full advantage of it where appropriate. If the scheme is successful, its remit may be expanded to other Business & Property cases and to other County Court work.
I hope that, in the coming months, I will be able to let you and your colleagues know about other initiatives to support the ADR of cases in Leeds.
With all good wishes
Jonathan Klein.
HH Judge Klein
22.12.23
Web
