The Detroit News highlighted the growth in mediation as a method of resolving disputes. The article focused on Macomb County which has the second highest caseload in the state.
Marisa Schultz writes (excerpt):
Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Maura Corrigan said Macomb’s high mediation caseload can be attributed to the trust local courts have in the center to refer cases to mediation. Her goal is to get more cases statewide into mediation and out of courts.
“People settling their disputes on their own is always preferable,” Corrigan said.
Mediation is also cost-effective, she said, noting it takes $250 million to run the state’s judiciary system. Last year, $1.8 million in state funds went to run Michigan’s 24 mediation centers.
During mediation, disputing parties sit down and explain their concerns about the other to a mediator. Mediators don’t take sides, but help the parties come to a compromise on how to settle their dispute.
When a compromise is reached, the mediator writes the terms of the mediation agreement and each party signs it.
People who come to an agreement during mediation will follow the agreement 93 percent of the time, according to the state’s Community Dispute Resolution Program.