Retired costs judge John O’Hare discusses ADR in three contexts, in this week’s NLJ. He covers cases provisionally allocated to the small claims track, commercial litigation in the County Court, and claims opposed by liability insurers or by large self-insuring organisations such as local authorities or health authorities.
One year ago, the Court of Appeal ruled that a court has the power to compel parties to engage in ADR, in certain circumstances. O’Hare shares some critical views of current and potentially future dispute resolution processes in the three contexts, including the incentives for parties to participate fully.
On the costs sanction for failure to attend ADR in small claims track cases, he writes that ‘a most likely reason for such a failure is that they are uncomfortable about discussing something they consider important over the telephone and so with less opportunity to show, as well as say, how unjust the opponent’s case is’.
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