by Marvin Schuldiner | Mar 3, 2009 | Commercial Mediation, Lawsuits
In January 2009, the New Jersey state government and courts implemented a foreclosure mediation program to help both homeowners and banks resolve outstanding balances on home mortgages. A homeowner can ask the court to be entered into the voluntary mediation program...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Feb 20, 2009 | Commercial Mediation, Lawsuits
The Wall Street Journal has an article today that details some studies about how plaintiffs fare in federal court cases. In a word: badly. From 1979-2006, plaintiffs prevail in 15% of cases. The average for plaintiffs winning in federal court in all other civil...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Feb 19, 2009 | Lawsuits, Off Beat
In an earlier post, I talked about a lawsuit filed against God being thrown out since God was unable to be served. The Omaha World-Herald reports about the appeal: LINCOLN — A God who is “all-knowing” should know when he’s being sued, even without...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Feb 18, 2009 | Lawsuits, Off Beat
How would you like this system of justice? In India, the New Delhi High Court has an estimated 466 YEARS of backlog. Yes, that’s years and it’s not a typo. And that is the backlog on criminal cases alone. The court handles all types of cases, including...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Jan 24, 2009 | Commercial Mediation
Lawyers USA reports how the poor economy has encouraged potential litigants and aggrieved parties to seek out mediation before filing suit in court. Some excerpts: With the economy crimping corporate legal spending, Allen Smith, a partner with the law firm SettlePou...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Jan 23, 2009 | Commercial Mediation
This is one of the most common questions I get. The answer is no. Why? There are a number of reasons. Mediating a dispute is not about the law. Trials and motions are about the law. Mediating is about identifying the issues in dispute, fact finding and...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Jan 7, 2009 | Commercial Mediation, Lawsuits, Off Beat
Roy Pearson won’t go away quietly. He is now asking for an en banc hearing of his appeal on the $54 million lawsuit over his lost pants. Previously, 3 appellate judges rejected his appeal and now he wants all 9 judges on the circuit to hear his appeal.
by Marvin Schuldiner | Jan 3, 2009 | Commercial Mediation, Lawsuits
The saga of the $54 million lost pants lawsuit appears to finally be over. As you will recall, a judge in DC sued a cleaner for $54 million for losing a pair of pants. Roy Pearson subsequently lost the lawsuit and his job as a judge (in part due to the lawsuit). ...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Nov 13, 2008 | Commercial Mediation, Lawsuits
In most lawsuits, one side wins and the other loses (or there is a partial win). But there are cases when the sides can’t settle, both of them lose. In 2006, a contractor working on a home in Cleveland, OH discovered $182,000 in depression era cash stashed in...
by Marvin Schuldiner | Oct 30, 2008 | Arbitration, Commercial Mediation, Lawsuits
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics has released the “Civil Justice Survey of State Courts, 2005”. The 2005 CJSSC was the first time that the series examined general civil trials concluded in a national sample of urban,...
