“Co-Op and Condo Mediation Project”
A new public service for resolving disputes

The New York City Bar Association is pleased to offer a new mediation service – now available to the co-op and condo community and the public – to settle residential disagreements amicably for a more satisfying and less costly resolution than standard court house litigation can provide.

The “Co-Op and Condo Mediation Project” at the New York City Bar Association is designed to help shareholders, managing agents, boards of directors, and others settle residential disputes without drag-down, drawn-out court hearings. The service is available in situations where all parties to a dispute are prepared to seek mediation.

“This new and exciting project sponsored by the City Bar Association presents a cost-effective alternative for New Yorkers who live in cooperatives and condominiums to resolve disputes with their neighbors or boards,” said Michael T. Manzi, chair of the Association’s Cooperative & Condominium Law Committee. “Although the program is not designed or intended to resolve all such disputes, it is ideal for what are essentially quality of life disputes that, for lack of a quick resolution, too often escalate into lengthy and contentious litigation.”

The “Co-Op and Condo Mediation Project” is a joint effort by two Association committees – the Cooperative and Condominium Law Committee and the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. “Neighbors may find themselves involved in conflict over any number of concerns, including the need for quiet or the use of common space,” said Dan Weitz, chair of the Association’s ADR committee. “This special program offers neighbors (and the Boards they often ask to intervene) a fast, inexpensive and confidential process through which to achieve durable solutions to their conflict.”

Both City Bar committees have long recognized the advantages of mediation over litigation.

Advantages to mediation . . .

• Mediation is preferable to litigation because it has proven to be quicker, more satisfying to all parties’ interests, and less expensive than going to court .

• Mediation takes a sensitive approach toward a resolution that is “tailor-made” by all parties. When disputants agree to make a commitment to the mediation process, everyone’s needs and concerns are taken into account – something a heavy-handed court room hearing rarely has time to do.

• People who are neighbors need to have their disputes resolved quickly before they escalate. An amicable approach to resolving a neighborly disagreement makes for more pleasant relations in the long run.

• Records show that nearly 80 percent of lawsuits are settled prior to (or during) the actual trial. So why spend so much money preparing for court house litigation when statistically you are likely to settle anyway (but through a court house third-party)? A trained mediator, on the other hand, is skilled in recognizing both sides of an argument and achieving an agreement that won’t be hurtful to any one party.

The Brochure . . .

Details about this new service are included in a new brochure titled “Mediate (Don’t Litigate) Your Co-Op/Condo Residential Dispute.” A direct link to the brochure is provided here.

http://www.nycbar.org/pdf/Mediate(Don%27t%20Litigate)_brochure.pdf

You can also access the brochure by visiting the Web site of the New York City Bar Association: www.nycbar.org. On the homepage, please click: “Reports and Publications” (bottom, left); then “Brochures and Books” (top, left); and at the top of the screen, under Alternative Dispute Resolution, please hit the link to the Association’s brochure.

For a copy of the brochure, or for more details about the program, please call (212) 382-6701.

About the Association
The New York City Bar Association (www.nycbar.org) was founded in 1870, and since then has been dedicated to maintaining the high ethical standards of the profession, promoting reform of the law, and providing service to the profession and the public. The Association continues to work for political, legal and social reform, while implementing innovative means to help the disadvantaged. Protecting the public’s welfare remains one of the Association’s highest priorities.

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