Mediation pays ... for litigants and the public
By Melissa Topey, mtopey@advertiser-tribune.comNo one likes to find himself in court, but the person who uses a mediator is more likely to be able to live with the results.
Using a mediator in a civil legal dispute allows parties to have a say in the outcome. Because of that, litigants are more likely to adhere to a mediated resolution.
"When parties resolve their own legal issues it's better. We encourage it," said Judge Steve Shuff of Seneca County Common Pleas court.
Seneca County has one mediator, John Py.
"John Py does a great job for us. He knows the law and what parties can do," Shuff said.
Py has been a civil mediator since Oct. 1, 1999. He works for six judges in Seneca, Sandusky, Huron and Ottawa counties.
"It's not a job for me. I enjoy it so much," Py said.
A court mediator helps the parties in a court action make their own binding agreement. The parties reach the decision as opposed to being told their fate by a judge.
Py has settled 1,352 cases, or 69 percent, with 605 cases resulting in an impasse.
Py was a practicing defense attorney but retired when he found relationships with other attorneys were strained and his work was becoming a source of frustration for him.
"I didn't feel I was serving the community well," Py said.
It was then a friend talked to him about mediation and Py found his current career.
Most mediators are retired attorneys, but that is not a requirement.
Py said domestic mediators have regulations and statuatory codes to meet. But otherwise, he was not aware of qualifications for civil mediators. He said he knows of a retired basketball coach acting as a mediator.
Civil mediators handle cases such as medical malpractice, foreclosures,\ and employee/ employer disputes.
Often the parties in a mediation have a working or family relationship.
"Most times (relationships) can be maintained, but if (litigants) have to go to court, the binds of the relationship may be severed," Py said.
But it's not just relationships that can be saved. Shuff said a mediator saves a court money and time.
Seneca County pays a portion of Py's fee at a cost of $28,000 a year, but the court makes most of that back because it charges a $100 mediation fee. Shuff estimates the fee pays $10,000 to $14,000 of Py's cost.
"It's a great deal," Shuff said.
More important to Shuff is the resolving of the disputes without a court ruling.
Mediation programs have been adopted by all but one county in Ohio.
"It's very successful. When this started out, it was a very small minority where court had a mediation program. Now almost every county has one court with mediation," said Chris Davey, director of public information for the Ohio Supreme Court.
The state's highest court works with courts anywhere in the state to establish different dispute resolution programs, the largest being mediation. Davey said formal certification is not needed but training is offered.
"If (local) courts approve them they can be a mediator (working for the court)," Davey said.
He said there is a proposal for the courts to start certifying mediators.
Parties do not have to use the court's mediator. They can bring in a private mediator who does not need to be approved by the judge, Shuff said.
Py said he brings the parties together, tells them how the process works and establishes the rules under which the parties are expected to work. He then separates the parties, listens to the demands of all sides while going back and forth until either a resolution is achieved or he has to inform the courts they were unable to reach a settlement.
"I am the messenger," Py said.
Py said he has learned mediation is not the time to be adversarial. He said he has seen attorneys' attitudes shift completely when they come to mediation because they are no longer wearing the litigator's hat.
Although being the messenger is encouraging the parties to make their own decisions, sometimes Py becomes a evaluator. He has to tell a party his or her case is not worth the settlement amounts being requested. He then encourages more realistic demands.
"In today's economic times everything has gotten more conservative. People are not so willing to give away money," Py said.
