The International Mediation Institute (IMI) has announced that it is publishing a suite of eight reports based on the 2016-2017 Global Pound Conference (GPC) events organised in North America. The suite consists of seven city-specific reports (one for each North American city that hosted a GPC), and an overarching report comparing results from across these … Read more

By way of update to our previous report on 8 May 2013 , on 12 August 2014 the New York federal court managing the consolidated Superstorm Sandy insurance litigation deferred ruling on a crucial insurance issue pending the outcome of mediation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the US agency generally tasked with coordinating disaster response … Read more

As we previously reported (here), the New York Supreme Court Commercial Division (a Manhattan-based division of the state court of first instance that exclusively hears complex commercial cases) has been considering a proposal for mandatory mediation. The proposal has now been adopted and the 18 month pilot programme becomes effective on 28 July 2014, at which time one … Read more

An advisory committee has recommended that the New York Supreme Court (the state court of first instance located in Manhattan) adopt a pilot programme for mandatory mediation in its Commercial Division, which exclusively hears complex commercial cases. While other New York courts have instituted limited mandatory mediation programmes (such as the Brooklyn programme about which we previously reported, which only applies to … Read more

The first instance state court in Brooklyn (Kings County) recently initiated a test program requiring civil cases to be mediated before proceeding to trial. The goal of the program is to alleviate some of the time and financial costs that civil litigation places on Brooklyn’s court system, which is burdened by over 50,000 cases at … Read more

In the wake of Super Storm Sandy, which caused devastation to parts of New York and surrounding areas on 29 October 2012, the New York Department of Financial Services has established a voluntary mediation process to resolve denied, disputed, or delayed insurance claims.  The first mediation sessions took place on 10 April 2013.  The program … Read more

In February of 2013, the Supreme Court of Texas issued Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 169, which designs a streamlined and expedited trial process for cases valued below $100,000 (excluding actions under the Family Code, Property Code, or Tax Code).  It applies to cases filed after 1 March 2013.  Read more

A new law in the state of Rhode Island overhauling its pension plan is the focus of a dispute between the State and five public sector unions representing police, firefighters, teachers, and other government employees.  The mediation will be handled by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. Allison Alcasabas (partner) and Annemarie Jones (associate) from our New York office … Read more