In the first six months, nearly half the Ninth District's identified mediation cases began the process, 74% of those completed the program, and 37% fully settled.

In the first six months, nearly half the Ninth District's identified mediation cases began the process, 74% of those completed the program, and 37% fully settled.

A proactive approach to its mediation process has produced promising results for one of the state’s appellate courts.

The Ninth District Court of Appeals, which refurbished its mediation program last July, released a year-end report stating that 47% of its cases referred into mediation agreed to take part in the program, and half of the cases that mediated, settled.

“We wanted to see if it was something that was impacting the judicial system,” said Ninth District Judge Donna Carr. “I’m just absolutely thrilled with the results,”

In the last six months of 2019, 164 civil appeals were filed with the court. These include general civil, domestic, juvenile, probate, administrative, and municipal court cases. Of those, 97 were identified for mediation, including 46 which began the process. Thirty-four cases completed the negotiation cycle, with 17 reaching a full agreement.

When compared with the adjudication process of an appellate decision, a case that makes its way to a Ninth District oral argument, on average, takes a year from when the time it’s filed to the judges’ ruling. A case that goes the mediation route can be resolved and dismissed within a few months.

“It gives parties an opportunity to creatively resolve their disputes in a way, perhaps, that the procedural limitations of the appellate process have not allowed them,” said Catherine Geyer, the manager for the Dispute Resolution Section of the Ohio Supreme Court.

Currently, nine of the state’s 12 appellate courts have a mediation program. The Supreme Court also has one, which it adopted in 1999.

The concept’s growth and increased use has allowed for both procedural and technological evolutions. What was once a very simple concept of bringing parties together to discuss a disagreement, can now be customized. Many mediators pursue information from field experts to help navigate cases. Much of Ninth District mediation attorney John Minter’s work is accomplished with litigants over the phone or via video conference. The need for developing skills and innovating techniques continues to grow for negotiators, and will be on display during Supreme Court’s upcoming Dispute Resolution Conference.

“The more we use it, the more opportunities we have to evolve the programs,” Geyer said.

On top of reducing caseloads for the appellate courts, mediation at that level prevents conflicts from potentially going up to the Supreme Court, or back down to the trial court. In certain instances, there are separate, but factually related, cases that can be simultaneously resolved.

“That makes it even more incredible, because that saves the parties sometimes thousands of dollars. It saves them from months, or years, of litigation, and it saves the trial courts that are overburdened,” Judge Carr said. “It’s just a win, win, win.”