Mediation and Arbitration Case Studies
Anna and Yuri
Anna and Yuri had two daughters attending university outside of the province and operated a business together. After they separated, Anna wanted to go back to Ontario, which she considered home and where most of her family lived. She also wanted to be closer to her daughters, who were attending different universities close to Ontario. Yuri was interested in a new business opportunity in British Columbia and intended to move there.
Anna and Yuri felt that they were able to make most of their separation decisions without assistance, but they were having difficulty with the division of the business and their personal assets. We recommended that they use mediation to try to resolve the more challenging issues. Anna and Yuri agreed to mediate their differences and attended three sessions, resulting in a full agreement on their property issues. They were also able to agree on how they would support their children through university.
We drafted the agreement and they both retained independent lawyers to provide advice. Yuri’s lawyer recommended a couple of changes to the agreement and Anna’s lawyer accepted them. We revised their agreement and provided copies to their lawyers for signature. As Anna and Yuri did not wish to formalize their divorce right away, the agreement was all that was needed to divide their property in a mutually agreeable way and define their financial responsibilities for their daughters.
Amit and Tracy
Amit and Tracy had two young children and came to us seeking separation assistance through mediation. Communication was not good between the parties and the biggest issue between them was where their children would go to school. After the initial screening, we recommended that they agree to mediation combined with arbitration (med-arb) as their resolution process.
Tracy remained in the family home (she bought Amit’s interest in the property), and she wanted her children to attend a school in their neighbourhood. Amit had moved to another part of the city and wanted the children to attend a private school.
Tracy and Amit attended three mediation sessions, and it became clear that they were not going to be able to come up with a compromise. They decided to resolve the issue through arbitration.
The mediator/arbitrator then met with Tracy and Amit’s lawyers to discuss when the arbitration would take place and what the process would look like. The lawyers agreed that the arbitration hearing could be less formal than a court proceeding.
It took half a day for Tracy and Amit to provide their evidence at the hearing. The arbitrator prepared a family award and reasons for decision in just over three weeks after the hearing. The family award became a binding decision that Tracy and Amit had to follow, and the reasons for decision explained why the arbitrator had decided which school the children were to attend.