Partner welcomes mediation report

A Shropshire solicitor who specialises in mediation work has welcomed a new report which aims to keep disputes between neighbours out of court.

The Ministry of Justice study aims to divert hundreds of acrimonious and costly cases from court to mediation.

Chris Detheridge, litigation partner at Wace Morgan Solicitors of Shrewsbury, said that the move was very positive.

He said: “A recent study by the Ministry of Justice found that there were 1,000 disputes between neighbours a year, although not all reached court.

“The average legal costs were £10,000 to £15,000 even though the dispute might relate to a few metres or even centimetres of land. The cases can take months or sometime years to resolve and causing delays in courts, which are buckling under pressure.”

Mr Detheridge, who is an accredited civil and commercial mediator, said that ministers were now looking at ways to promote mediation and to encourage better information on boundaries from the Land Registry.

“Mediation is a cost effective process than enables parties to quickly resolve disputes and I welcome this study as a positive way forward.

“The judiciary is very keen to encourage parties to see courts as a last resort and can penalise those who do not consider some form of alternate resolution, such as mediation,” he said.
 
Chris has over 15 years’ experience dealing with a wide range of disputes from commercial contractual issues to disputed wills.

“This experience enables me to quickly identify the real issues between parties and use this insight to help reach agreements that are both cost effective and satisfactory to everyone involved,” he added.

Wace Morgan offers free 20 minute consultations on legal matters such as boundary disputes.
 
For further information please contact Chris Detheridge on 01743 280 100