Refusing To Mediate Could Cost You

Conway v Conway and Another (Rev1) [2024] EW Misc 19 (CC) is a yet another case demonstrating the increasing importance the Court places on mediation and the penalties that might be applied to a party unreasonably refusing to engage in mediation. In this instance, refusing to mediate cost the Defendant a five-figure sum.

The case concerned a claim for a declaration from the court that prospective purchasers of a barn were not entitled to enter a barn. The Claimant and Defendants had orally agreed that the barn, which was located on land owned by the Claimant, would be sold to the Defendants. Before the sale concluded, the Defendants started to convert the barn, spending significant sums on it. The oral agreement was never set out in writing and the sale fell through when the relationship between the parties broke down, at which stage the Claimant brought its claim to prevent the Defendants from accessing and continuing the works on the barn. Whilst the