Housing advocates are lauding the Nevada Supreme Court’s trio of decisions, released Thursday, about Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program. However, under the surface of Pasillas, Redmon, and Leyva lurks factors that could cause upheaval (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘Nevada’
Groundbreaking Court Decision Requires Courts to Comply with Mediators
Just Court ADR, July 15th, 2011The Bread and Butter of Non-Judicial Foreclosure Mediation
Just Court ADR, June 22nd, 2011Here at the Just Court ADR blog, we focus on just that – court-connected alternative dispute resolution. But occasionally, a dispute resolution system becomes so popular that it grows beyond the walls of the courthouse and replicates itself, like good yeast, into new shapes.
The latest ADR bread to rise outside the judiciary (more…)
Reporting on Reporting on Good Faith
Just Court ADR, March 9th, 2011No one wants parties in a mediation to sit at the table with their arms crossed, refusing to talk. But who, if anyone, should tell mediators how to evaluate a party’s good faith participation in mediation? (more…)
Good Faith, Revisited
Jennifer Shack, September 21st, 2010(See the posting from Susan Yates, “Learning from the Gamble on Foreclosure Mediation in Nevada,” on this subject, too.)
An article in Sunday’s New York Times examined the shortcomings some see in Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program. The article focuses in part on complaints that the lenders are not participating in good faith. Mediators who have recommended sanctions against the lenders say they have been removed from the program’s roster. They state that they are bound by statute to make the recommendation. The court rule makes no mention of good faith participation, and the Court appears to be relying on the rule in its decision to bar the mediators from the roster.
Leaving aside the question of which authority prevails, I’d like to examine the wisdom of requiring mediators to recommend sanctions against a party. NRS 107.086 states in part: (more…)
Learning from the Gamble on Foreclosure Mediation in Nevada
Susan M. Yates, September 21st, 2010(See the posting from Jen Shack, Good Faith, Revisited, on this subject, too.)
An article in Sunday’s New York Times purported to examine Nevada’s foreclosure mediation program, especially its shortcomings. The article, combined with a reading of the court rules for the program, points out continuing misunderstandings about mediation, such as what mediators do, the purpose of mediation, and how mediation functions. It also points up a glaring deficiency in many court mediation programs: not tracking the actual results of mediations. In this case, if people are really staying in their homes or moving, if temporary mortgage modifications are becoming permanent, if the foreclosure process is moving more quickly, etc.
In terms of what mediators do, the local rules indicate confusion about the actual role of the mediator. (more…)
