There can be many benefits to arbitrating your case, rather than litigating your case through the court system including, but not limited to, a faster proceeding, a more amicable process, decreased litigation costs (despite having to pay the arbitrator), a jointly selected person to preside over your case (perhaps a retired family court judge or… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Mediation/Arbitration
Subscribe to Mediation/Arbitration RSS FeedIf Your Agreement Has a Mediation Clause In It To Resolve Future Disputes, You Actually Have to Go to Mediation To Resolve Future Disputes
Posted in Mediation/Arbitration, Practice IssuesFor whatever reason, it is not unusual for a Marital Settlement Agreement and/or Custody Agreement to have a mediation clause in it which requires parties to go to mediation before bringing an issue to the Court by way or motion. For some issues, like enforcement, one questions the obligation to go to mediation. Either someone… Continue Reading
Another day, Another Judge lost
Posted in Mediation/ArbitrationThere is no secret that New Jersey is suffering a significant crisis with respect to judicial vacancies. This year alone has seen a significant number of retirements without replacements being named. The effect on the family courts, and in particular, the divorce docket, has been catastrophic. I was at a meeting of family lawyers… Continue Reading
If a Tree Falls During Mediation, Can the Mediator Tell Anyone About It?
Posted in Mediation/ArbitrationLast week, Larry Cutler posted a piece on this blog entitled "Are Mediation Proceedings Really Sacred and Secret?" The inspiration for this post was a recent published Appellate Division case Willingboro Mall, Ltd. V. 240/242 Franklin Avenue, L.L.C.., a case in which a mediator actually filed a certification and testified. That, however, is the exception but not the rule. … Continue Reading
ARE MEDIATION PROCEEDINGS REALLY SACRED AND SECRET?
Posted in Divorce, Mediation/ArbitrationGenerally speaking, New Jersey statutes and court rules cloak settlement negotiations with secrecy (legally, called a “privilege”) such that what goes on in those proceedings are not evidential, that is, they are “privileged” from being disclosed to a court. Somewhat of an exception arises in cases in which the negotiations produce an oral… Continue Reading
Arbitration of Children Issues
Posted in Custody, Mediation/ArbitrationPrevious blogs on this site have dealt with arbitration of various aspects of matrimonial disputes. N.H. v. H.H. is another in the developing law of arbitration of family law issues. This article will deal with the subject of arbitration in the context of children issues, as the financial issues raised on appeal are less timely and… Continue Reading
Disqualification of a Decision-Maker
Posted in Divorce, Mediation/ArbitrationThe most timely and important issue in the recent Appellate Division case of N.H. v. H.H. dealt with the rapidly developing law of the alternative process of arbitration in the family law context, and in that case, particularly as that process relates to children issues. That is the subject of a companion article on this blog…. Continue Reading
NEW APPELLATE DIVISION DECISION REGARDING PARENTING COORDINATOR GRIEVANCES AND FEES
Posted in Counsel Fee Awards, Custody, Mediation/Arbitration, Visitation/Parenting TimeFollowing on the heels of Eric Solotoff’s recent blog entry addressing the use of parenting coordinators, a new published (precedential) decision from the Appellate Division talks about grievances against parenting coordinators, parenting coordinator fees, and the need for a plenary hearing to address such issues. In Segal v. Lynch, the Appellate Division addressed these issues in… Continue Reading
Matrimonial Arbitration is on Its Way
Posted in Mediation/ArbitrationMatrimonial Arbitration is a form of alternate dispute resolution (ADR). ADR seeks to resolve disputes utilizing a facilitator or tribunal who is not a judge. Sometimes, cases are submitted to ADR without a court action even being filed, in which case, it operates outside of the system and wholly on its own. When the parties resort to… Continue Reading
New Jersey Supreme Court Weighs in Again on Arbitration in Custody Proceedings
Posted in Custody, Mediation/ArbitrationLast year, in the Fawzy decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court put procedures in place approving parents’ ability to arbitrate child custody opinion. This specifics of this decision was the subject of a prior blog at the time of the decision. One of the procedural safeguards required by Fawzy was a verbatim record of the… Continue Reading
“Settlement Anxiety” – An Effective Tool or an Unfair One?
Posted in Mediation/Arbitration, Practice IssuesRecently, I was at a mediation where the mediator, when telling us his assessment of my client’s case, said that he was creating "settlement anxiety." I had never heard this term but what I believe was meant was that the mediator wanted the client to have "anxiety" about his/her position in order to be more likely to… Continue Reading
SUPREME COURT WILL HEAR ARGUMENTS ON WHETHER FAWZY DECISION ON CUSTODY ARBITRATION SHOULD BE RETROACTIVELY APPLIED
Posted in Custody, Mediation/ArbitrationThe Supreme Court has granted certification and will hear argument in the case of Johnson v. Johnson. In essence the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether retroactive application is warranted of its ruling in Fawzy v. Fawzy that parents can arbitrate child custody issues if a thorough record is kept. We have blogged on the Fawzy… Continue Reading
DIVORCE FOR THE WELL-TO-DO
Posted in Alimony, Divorce, Equitable Distribution, Estate and Trust Issues, Mediation/Arbitration, Prenuptial Agreements, Privacy and ConfidentialityAs seen in Affluent Magazine. Divorce for those of substantial wealth relative to those of limited wealth is an oxymoron – aspects of divorce between the two classifications are both similar and yet quite different. In final analysis, it is a question of degree – that is, the number of zeros behind the dollar signs…. Continue Reading