{"id":76521,"date":"2020-05-21T09:43:13","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T08:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=76521"},"modified":"2021-05-06T11:54:50","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T10:54:50","slug":"video-mediation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/planning-construction-news\/video-mediation\/76521\/","title":{"rendered":"Video Mediation in Construction Disputes"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the UK begins its slow journey back to work and becomes accustomed to living and working in a Covid-19 present world, it is no surprise that there has been a surge in disputes and companies looking for restructuring advice<\/h2>\n

The message from our courts is that they are busy and expect to get even busier.\u00a0The courts also continue to reinforce the message that they will punish a party that refuses to engage in mediation. If you don\u2019t believe me, have a read of the recent case of DSN v Blackpool Football Club Ltd\u00a0<\/em>[2020] EWHC 670 (QB)<\/a>. Or, if you are still unsure, have a look at the case of BXB v Watch Tower and Bible Tract Society of Pennsylvania & Ors\u00a0<\/em>[2020] EWHC 656 (Admin)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just to be clear, it simply doesn\u2019t matter how good you think your construction case<\/a> is. If you refuse to mediate, you can and should expect the courts to deal with you harshly when allocating responsibility for the payment of inter-party costs.<\/p>\n

Online mediations<\/h3>\n

So how can we mediate if face-to-face meetings are not currently allowed? The answer is that mediations<\/a> are routinely taking place online. Is it the same as mediating in person? The answer is clearly no, but there is no doubt that on-line mediation, particularly video mediation, is thriving and here to stay. We have the technology and we all just have to get used to using it.<\/p>\n

Having conducted face-to-face mediations for over 20 years, I confess to approaching my first video mediations with a sense of fear and trepidation. I worried incessantly about the technology letting me (and the Parties) down and even prepared back-up plans to move to a telephone mediation if things went to horse do-dah. I created a series of virtual break-out rooms that, after the first joint session, I was able to move people into. I had private discussions with the Parties and eventually encouraged and guided the Parties into the negotiation phase of the mediation. The Parties were able to easily share documents that everyone could see and, when deals were finally struck, I was able to move the lawyers into a break-out room to allow them to finalise a settlement agreement.<\/p>\n

They do say that the \u2018proof of the pudding is in the eating\u2019. \u00a0The mediations proceeded without any technology failures and eventually settled. \u00a0So, all in all, my worries were misplaced and I am now a convert of video mediation.<\/p>\n

I am not going to suggest that video mediation is better than face-to face-mediation but there are some advantages that are worth thinking about:<\/p>\n