Mediation & Alternative Dispute Resolution: A New Era For Litigation?

In recent years the Isle of Man Courts, in common with their counterparts in many other jurisdictions, have demonstrated a strong desire for parties in litigation to attempt to resolve their issues by means other than litigation, most notably mediation.

In May 2012, the English Court of Appeal issued a stern warning to a defendant who rejected mediation offered at a previous hearing, with Lord Justice Longmore referring to the decision as an "inadequate response". The defendant in Ghaith v Indesit successfully defended a personal injury claim by an employee, but the employee was subsequently given leave to appeal and the Court urged both parties to pursue mediation. Indesit rejected that advice, a decision which LJ Longmore said will "inevitably lead to a substantial increase in costs" for the defendant. Another member of the Court of Appeal panel, Lord Justice Ward, said that mediation has "a canny knack of transforming the intractable in to the possible" and