PREVENTIVE MEDIATION—CONTINUED

Last week I introduced the concept of Preventive Mediation, that is, mediation to deal with the “what if’s” that can be the precursors of disputes. This approach brings issues to the table before parties become stressed and emotionally involved in a conflict.

 Here’s an example:

 A mediation involved two neighbors. One, who we’ll identify as “Fred,” had owned his home for more than twenty years and the other, who we’ll identify as “Yosei” had recently moved in. Their homes were on an incline with Yosei’s house above Fred’s. For as long as Fred lived in his home, there’s been one shared brick fence in the back yard. The front of the yard was grass with no boundary markings. For years each neighbor mowed their property without any issues.

 One year during an unusually heavy rain, water had flowed from Yosei’s back yard into Fred’s house, resulting in some leakage to his home. Fred decided to install a water barrier and had no further problems.

 But then one day Fred saw contractors in Yosei’s backyard. They were filling in the pool, removing the turf, and planning to cover the entire backyard with concrete. Fred was convinced this change to Yosei’s backyard would cause all rain water to drain directly into his yard and likely into his house.

Let’s look at possible outcomes:

It’s safe to say that eventually a heavy rain would cause damage to Fred’s home and before that occurs, he could ask Yosei to take steps to prevent it from happening. If Yosei refused, and a severe rain did cause damage to Fred’s home, he could sue Yosei for damages. Legal action would be expensive and negatively impact their relationship as neighbors.

Instead, Fred asked for Preventive Mediation. Because nothing happened yet, neither party was aggressive or defensive and willing to engage in the process to deal with the “what if” before the next heavy rain comes.

 With their mediator, the parties agreed that Fred could build and own a retaining wall on the edge of Yosei’s property to divert water to the street. Yosei also agreed to support a city permit so it would be done properly.

And as it would happen, within a few months after the wall was built, a heavy rain hit the area. But no damage occured because their Preventive Mediation session provided an effective solution.