Question

Sam and Janet were married for 10 years. During this time, they have been living with Sam’s parents, however Janet is not satisfied with this arrangement and wants to have her own home. Janet has tried many times to speak to Sam how she feels but Sam refuses. One day, Sam’s mother, Julie, came home from the Bank and Janet rudely accused her of interfering with Janet’s marriage. The two of them were in a heated exchange whereby Janet curse her mother-in-law while pelting her with objects and Julie curse Janet in return while telling Janet that she never wanted her as a daughter-in-law. This carried on for over an hour during which time, Sam came from work and tried to reason with the women. Eventually, Janet went to the Police Station and made a report. The Police suggested to Janet, Julie, and Sam that maybe they should consider alternatives to litigation.  

Discuss which Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method or combination of ADR methods can be used to help Julie, Janet and Sam. Why should litigation not be pursued? (Include in your discussion atleast 4 advantages and 4 disadvantages of the ADR method(s) chosen).

Answer 1

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods are widely used in order to settle dispute without getting involved in trials and court. ADR are legal, practical and private. There are both advantages as well as disadvantages of ADR.

After going through the given scenario, the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) method that in my opinion can be utilized to help Julie, Janet and Sam is Mediation. Mediation is a structured multi-stage process. An impartial and neutral third party (mediator) enables dialogue between the disputing parties. In this ADR method parties reach a mutually satisfactory agreement with assistance of mediator. This method is complementary to existing legal system. If parties fail to reach conclusive agreement through this method they are free to go for arbitration or litigation.

The agreement that is reached through mediation is specifies time periods for performance. In this way it is becomes easy to evaluate and measure the performance. The agreement reached through mediation is in writing and serves as a tangible evidence for combined accomplishment. The compliance with mediated agreement is usually high because the terms of agreement are created by involved parties themselves.

There are several advantages of using Mediation. Some of these are as follows:

• This method is prompt, and hence it is easy and fast to determine solution.
• It is private therefore; the mediating parties are not at risk of losing confidentiality.
• This method is less expensive than usual court trials.
• This method is flexible.
• Parties are satisfied as they reach mutual agreement without exterior imposition.
• Other advantages of mediation include that it is less complicated, more realistic, more likely to produce desirable results, helps in developing a suitable solution.

There are some disadvantages of mediation. Some of these are:

• It is more of an informal solution.
• Family mediation service is still lacking in in many countries,
• Parties involved in the process can withdraw at any time during the process.
• Judge is not involved in the process to impose orders,
• Mediator has no previous knowledge of the case or situation disputing parties are going through.

As per my opinion in the given case, litigation should not be pursued because it will take time to decide the case through trials. Litigation is also expensive as fees of advocates are very high. This issue can be resolved easily through mediation. Family image can be impacted by getting involved in litigation.