Ramsey County Law Library Blog

Your cousin wore out the welcome to your guest room months ago, but you don’t want to evict him and blemish his rental record.  Your neighbor’s dog has invaded your yard and destroyed your property, but you don’t want to drag your neighbor into court.  The weekend business you and your buddies started never got off the ground, but now they refuse to reimburse you for the start-up costs.  No matter how strong your potential case is on legal merits, you may understandably have cold feet about taking your neighbors, friends, or family members to court.  You wish for a fair resolution, but the court system might seem unnecessarily harsh and overbearing. Then there are also the painful expenses that come with traditional litigation, including lawyers and filing fees. 

Many people forget that there is often a more private (and perhaps more civilized) way to resolve issues. That, at least, is the hope offered by alternative dispute resolution (ADR), which includes both mediation and arbitration.  According to Nolo.com, the two are different in that a mediator typically lacks authority to render a decision, but instead assists the parties informally toward crafting their own agreement.  Most civil disputes can be mediated, including matters of contracts, leases, small business ownership, employment, and divorce. Arbitration is different in that an arbitrator acts much like a judge, conducting a contested hearing between the parties and then renders a legally binding decision.

Even if you do decide to file a case in civil court, you will eventually be offered information on ADR.  Rule 114 of the Minnesota General Rules of Practice requires information for parties on ADR, who are then required to discuss possible utilization of ADR in their case. The court may also order the parties to attend a non-binding ADR process.  Parties are not required to settle their differences through ADR, but they must at least discuss their differences with the neutral and attempt to resolve their differences prior to a trial.

See here  to see if ADR might be a possibility for you.