On Bankruptcy and Mediation
Adjustments to unique circumstances? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By Donald L. Swanson The opinion is from In re The Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y., Case No. 20-10322, Western New York Bankruptcy Court (entered December 27, 2021, Doc. 1487). The Diocese of Buffalo asks the Bankruptcy Court to refer its Chapter 11 case and related adversary proceedings to... Continue Reading →
Managing tension (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson On January 3, 2022, Reuters reports, under the heading “Judge orders mediation for Purdue, Sacklers over opioid settlement,” as follows: A U.S. bankruptcy judge orders mediation in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy [fn. 1], calling for the company, the Sackler family members that own it and nine... Continue Reading →
Pursuing a strategy? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson “There is no federal mediation privilege”;“the mediator's testimony about the mediation is not privileged”; and“there is no legal bar to Defendants seeking the [mediator’s testimony] with regard to the mediation and settlement negotiations.” --Roberts v. City of Fairbanks, Case No. 17-cv-00034, U.S. District Court of... Continue Reading →
Face-to-face communications (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Electronic communications (e.g., emails and texts) fail to convey the non-verbal cues that are readily apparent in face-to-face communications. That’s an unsurprising conclusion from a study titled, “Ask in person: You're less persuasive than you think over email.” [Fn. 1] Dominant Email and text communications are... Continue Reading →
Patience and perseverance are required (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson A mediator’s motto must always be, “Never give up.” At the beginning of any mediation, a mediator will hear, all the time and from all the parties, “No, never!” So, a mediator must ignore such statements and keep talking—exercising patience and perseverance .... Continue Reading →
Reprinted with permission from the ABI Journal, Vol. XL, No. 9, September 2021. View the original publication here. By: Donald L Swanson Mandated mediation is authorized by federal statute. As such, 28 U.S.C. § 652(a) provides, “Any district court that elects to require the use of alternative dispute resolution in certain cases may do so only... Continue Reading →
When hazards happen (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson “Puffing” is famously—or notoriously—known as acceptable negotiating behavior in these United States. “Puffing” means something akin to “fibbing”: taking exaggerated positions, pursuing hidden agendas, hiding the ball on willingness to bend, etc. Although “puffing” in negotiations may be acceptable behavior, it is, often, not a... Continue Reading →
An expired deadline? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Every party in a mediation or other negotiation effort puzzles over time limits for responding to offers. Questions that offering parties often grapple with include: How long should the time limit be for responding?Should the time-limited offer be presented as a step in the negotiating... Continue Reading →
Revolutionary By: Donald L Swanson An early-in-the-pandemic report on judicial processes [fn. 1] shows how the pandemic produces a revolution in the way courts do business—a revolution creating improvements in court processes that are here to stay. What follows is a summary of that report. Pre-Pandemic Reality Before the pandemic began, US courts lag behind other... Continue Reading →
Stubborn persistence (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson The opinion is In re Butko, Case No. 20-21255 in the Western Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Court (decided 2/10/2021, Doc. 91). Litigious Parties The parties have been at it for awhile. You know the history is bad, when a Court opinion begins its “Background” explanation like this: “In... Continue Reading →
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