The Role of the Mediator in the Video - Case Study Example

Scenario Mediation Case Study Scenario Mediation Case Study Introduction For most landlords and landladies, a tenant is consideredbetter off initially attempting to resolve any kind of disputes be it rent or living conditions directly with them instead of marching off to a small claims court or a lawyer’s office. However, if relations are overly strained that no meeting, let alone an agreement, is feasible, or you are fruitless in negotiating an agreement with the owner of the house, then critics normally advice for the inclusion of a neutral or third-party mediator. This is because both mediation and negotiations will be cheaper compared to a lawsuit and often leads to solutions that last that are normally less stressful. That being said, there are cases when mediation or negotiations are not appropriate. For instance, if your landlord or lady has discriminated against the tenant rooted in his or her race, sex or any other unlawful reasons, then the tenant has to file a lawsuit, normally a fair housing complaint. In the video provided, we notice a landlady and a tenant disputing over two months of unpaid rent and a mediator trying to resolve their quarrels. This paper will assume the role of the mediator in the video and discuss what the strategy would have been for setting up the mediation. It will also discuss what happened in the mediation session. Parties and their Perspectives The parties involved in this mediation process were Dennis and Linda, Dennis being the tenant and Linda her landlady for over seven years. Both of them are at the meeting to discuss the issue about rental payments, which Dennis has failed to pay for over two months and now they are moving into the third month. The amount that Dennis owes Linda totals to about $3450 and the breakdown is $250 December balance, $750 January rent, $750 February rent and court fines, as well as double dues due to missing the time of paying the rent to when the rent will be paid, which totals to that $3450. The issue here is that Linda wants her rent paid but Dennis cannot provide it at the moment because he is unemployed and feels that his other needs such as ensuring that he has money for food, fueling his vehicle and paying his cell phone bill is more important than paying his rent. He justifies his point by saying that if he cannot use his mobile phone, then he cannot find a job. However, for Linda, she claims that this is not her problem since she is also running a business to which Dennis signed a contract to because they began. In the end, the two agreed that Dennis would settle the $250 December balance, the January and February rent totaling to about $1750 and also the court cost that the Linda incurred while going to file for a lawsuit before they decided that they would see a mediator. They both agreed to settle this bill by February 20th, and if Dennis failed to honor this, then the original fine of $3450 would be implemented and Linda would file for an eviction notice against him. Pre-Mediation Strategy The actual mediator in Linda’s and Dennis’ case used the normal procedure that is used in any mediation process. This is that she started with the introductory remarks and went on state the problems of both the parties involved in the mediation. This is where they told their stories without interruption. They later moved on to the information gathering, where they are both asked open-ended questions to make them understand how they were wronging the other party and also build rapport. After that, the mediator moved to identify the problem and also generate options that would eventually lead to an agreement. This is a standard procedure, but in our case, it appears that Dennis failed to understand that Linda was also running a business. There was a time that the mediator was trying to convince Dennis this but she was not successful. Therefore, in such as situation, I being the mediator would implement the evaluative mediation process discussed by Zumeta (n.d), wherein I would assume the position of a court judge and tell Dennis that if we were in a court of law, then the outcome would be in the favor of Linda since she was rightful to claim everything that she had written in her agreement for the court costs to the double rent. Once Dennis understood this then I would implement the transformative mediation procedure still discussed by Zumeta (n.d). This would make both parties understand that they will mutually benefit from the procedure unlike before where they thought that the other party is the one that stands to benefit from the procedure. My strategy would be to use two different mediation strategies together in order to come up with the best outcome. After this is when we will come up with an agreement to mediate form posted below. (Post agreement to mediate form below) How the Positions, Interests and Issues were Fleshed out during the Mediation In the actual case, the mediator used caucusing in order to flesh out the positions, interests and issues both parties in order to reach the agreement. This refers to a private meeting between a mediator and one party at a time in order to hear their views on how they would reach an agreement to the dispute. The mediator listened to Linda’s view first and she tried to make him understand that maybe Dennis is not able to raise the rent because he does not have any income so she decided to let him pay $500 per month till the entire debt was cleared. In Dennis’ caucusing process, the two reached an agreement, but the mediator failed to convince him that Linda was a business person who needed that rent to sustain her business. Me being the mediator, I would go by Stepp’s (2003) view that, in all odds, the parties have to respect each other, but in this case Dennis failed to show Linda utter respect considering that she had let him stay in her house with two months’ rent due. It would be my duty to come up with common goals that would see both parties benefit from the mediation but also ensure that they both respect one another. This is because, when you put yourself in Linda’s shoes, you would wonder why someone shows you disrespect yet you have let them dwell in your home for almost two months with due rent. Even though, the work of the mediator is to play the role of an unbiased, third-party as discussed by Potter (1995), you also have to ensure that both of the parties know the importance of respecting each other during and after the process because this might determine the outcome of the mediation. How the Mediation Concluded When the mediation came to an end, the parties agreed that Dennis would see his mother’s jewelry in order to raise the rent, but he needed up to the end of February in order to find the best suitor and also the highest bidder. The parties agreed that Dennis would pay the rent due for the three months and the court costs that would amount to $1950 and if Dennis misses any later payment, it would be reverted back to the $3450 due to double damages and also she would file for an eviction notice against Dennis. Linda agreed to the because of the commitment she saw in Dennis for turning up to the mediation. It was finally concluded that these payments were due February 20th and if it passed that date then everything would be reverted as discussed above. Me being in the mediator’s shoes, it would have depended on how to talks went between Dennis and Linda before we came up with a conclusion. However, it is advisable that any kind of agreement that is reach should be in favor of both parties. Here both parties came up with an agreement and what would happen if the agreements were not adhered to. I being the mediator would be sure to let Dennis know that he might stand to fail a court procedure if he failed to adhere to the agreement because they both signed it and it clearly stipulated the consequences that would arise after. Like Nolo (2015) puts it, if an agreement has been arrived at, then the mediator might document the main provisions as the parties listen. It would be my duty to ask each party to sign the documented summary of agreement or propose they sit down with their respective lawyers for review. If both Linda and Dennis want to, they can come up with signed and legally binding contract. Critics such as Moore (1996) advise that if no agreement is reached, then I should review whatever advancement was made and advice both Dennis and Linda of their options, for example meeting again later, going to court, or going to arbitration. Conclusion In conclusion, this paper has discussed the dispute revolving around Linda and Dennis, who is a landlady and a tenant, respectively, which revolves around the issue of unpaid rent. Any house owner would wish for his tenant to acknowledge that through renting them a house, they are doing business and the rent from the house is where the landlord or lady makes his profit. The number one rule of any business is to make profit, and without this, there is not business. Maybe before the mediation starts, a mediator can use some of the Read More