Examaples of the cases are listed below: 

Ministry of Defence (MOD)

• Mediation was successfully used in a group action brought against the MOD in March 2007 by a group of 360 former members of HM Forces who claimed that their health had been affected as a result of taking part in tests at the MOD’s establishment at Porton Down in Wiltshire. The majority of these tests, which took place in the 1950s and 1960s, related to experiments involving nerve gas, mustard gas and riot control agents. This long-running claim was successfully settled at mediation, saving the veterans, who were aged in their 70s and 80s, the stress of obtaining compensation via a lengthy High Court trial.

• Mediation was also used in a large claim relating to the death of the claimant’s husband as a result of alleged clinical negligence, in which the MOD was one of the defendants. The mediation, which ran over two days, resulted in the claim being settled without the widow undergoing the trauma of a court case to secure a ruling on compensation.

• A foreign national, who was injured overseas by a member HM Forces, brought a claim in England. It was settled by mediation more quickly, and at lower cost to the parties, than if it had gone to trial.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)

• A legal partnership had a dispute with HMRC about income tax liabilities going back over many years. A mediation took place using the county court mediation scheme, employing the services of an accountant as the mediator. A settlement was reached, which reflected the evidential weaknesses on both sides, saving both parties the considerable time and cost that would have been incurred by a two-three day county court trial.

• HMRC – like most large employers – has to deal with a number of claims brought by staff on various employment-related issues, many of which could subsequently result in a costly Employment Tribunal Hearing.
• Seventy-nine such claims were settled, using the services of ACAS (the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service), many of which contained complex and sensitive matters.
• Three further cases involving claims of disability discrimination were successfully mediated as part of the Employment Tribunal Judicial Mediation pilot that was operating in the Birmingham and Newcastle Tribunals. As a result, reasonable adjustments were agreed and implemented, which resulted in no compensatory awards needing to be made by HMRC.

• A long running dispute began with HMRC bringing a criminal prosecution against a party. Following the collapse of that prosecution, the party brought a serious default claim in excess of £4 million against HMRC as a consequence of the action that had been taken to restrain the party's assets. Since this type of case is rare, and there was no legal precedent or case law upon which to rely, negotiations took place between counsel on both sides, leading to a clarification of both parties’ positions. This resulted in the claim against HMRC being withdrawn completely, as well as saving considerable time and cost.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)

• In September 2007, Defra mediated a dispute with a company in the business of collecting and selling bovine semen under licence granted by Defra under the Artificial Insemination Regulations. The mediation related to one issued claim, and a number of potential claims, between Defra and the company. The company had two separate claims against the Department for negligence arising from the testing of bulls for disease infection. Errors had been made in carrying out the necessary health checks on bulls, and in the recording of the results. This had led to significant disruption to the quarantine processes that the animals were required to undergo before semen was collected, with consequent losses to the claimant’s business. Defra also had a number of debt claims against this company for unpaid fees, which it would have looked to set off against any damages claimed in the litigation.

The mediation was conducted by a barrister mediator in chambers in Manchester and a favourable settlement achieved, which reflected the litigation and reputational risk to the department.

Department for Works & Pensions/Department for Health (DWP/DH)

• DWP/DH Legal Services acting on behalf of Jobcentre Plus (JCP) successfully mediated a settlement over a disputed claim to a share of the proceeds from the sale of the property of a sheltered workshop. JCP claimed they were entitled to 75% of the proceeds from the sale of the property. However, neither the claimant nor the defendant could produce a signed copy of the agreement, and therefore, could not prove their claim in law.

The building in question was sold for over £1 million but there were other creditors. DWP/DH Legal Services negotiated a settlement with the defendant’s Solicitors, after ensuring that payments to all other creditors had been met. The settlement avoided the cost that would have been associated with a potentially protracted court case.

• DWP/DH Legal Services successfully acted on behalf of Jobcentre Plus (JCP) to reach an agreement with a training provider over disputed training service payments. JCP alleged that the documentation did not support the outcome payments they had claimed. The dispute was mediated whereby the defendant agreed to re-pay £60,000 to JCP.

Treasury Solicitor's Department (TSol)

• TSol acted on behalf of the MOD in a claim against a former project manager on a construction project. The MOD claimed primary losses in the region of £840,000 for breach of the project manager’s duties and responsibilities under the contract. A counterclaim was lodged by the project manager. The matter was referred to mediation by agreement of the parties. The MOD successfully negotiated a settlement of £625,000 payable to the claimant (the MOD) in full and final settlement of the dispute, with no monies paid towards the defendant’s counterclaim. This was a good result in light of the litigation risks of proceeding to trial.

• TSol acted for one of the defendants in a clinical negligence dispute. Summary judgment was entered in the main action on the basis of admissions made by the lead defendant. There was an underlying dispute between the two defendants as to which one should take responsibility for the claim under their Service Level Agreement. By the time that mediation was offered, the dispute between the defendants had been intractable for a considerable time. The mediation that followed allowed the parties to mitigate their liabilities in terms of damages and legal expenses without the expense of a full trial to determine damages and costs.

• Mediation was recommended under the Court of Appeal mediation scheme, and followed shortly before an appeal of damages. Everyone (including the claimants) accepted that damages were likely to be reduced on appeal. While the matter might have settled eventually by each side making offers, the face-to-face mediation appointment acted as a real focus for everyone involved, and settled matters much quicker than had the case proceeded to appeal.

• TSol also assisted with a number of employment disputes, three of which were dealt with as part of the Employment Tribunal’s Judicial Mediation pilots:

one case settled at mediation for just under £100,000, saving an estimated £30,000 in legal costs, and probably the same amount in management time; another was settled with the claimant returning to work together with a payment of £7,500. Although the third case did not settle at mediation, the mediation process assisted the parties in doing so shortly afterwards, saving an estimated £10,000.

National Health Service Litigation Authority (NHSLA)

The majority of claims subject to ADR are of very high value, typically where the claim relates to the acquisition of cerebral palsy as a result of alleged negligence in medical care.

In most of these cases, ADR takes place post proceedings and usually within three months of trial. It is usual for liability issues to have been resolved prior to the settlement meeting and the subject to be quantum. As such, the discussions tend to be a very technical nature involving multipliers, indexation and life expectancy.

Such discussions are no doubt beneficial to both parties in understanding the other party’s position and as can be deducted from the settlement rate, usually produce a satisfactory resolution. 

Full details are available in pdf here