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District Civil Mediation 

The judicial system identifies these cases as Civil Cases because their issues and complaints addressed by the Civil Law Statutes.

 

District courts in are the highest civil trial courts in Colorado. Litigation in district courts is governed by the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. Their rules are much more complex and the process is designed to offer the parties the opportunity to fully investigate and litigate their claims since, much of the time, these cases involve significant amounts of money in dispute.

 

The Civil Division at District Courts handle many types of cases and money suits. The claim amounts go well beyond the threshold set for county court civil cases and have no jurisdictional restriction in the amount of money that can be asked for in a lawsuit.
 

As the parties file and respond to the claim filed, the court will order them to choose a mediator. Should they select an ODR Mediator, the mediation will be under the ODR umbrella process and corresponding fees assigned by the Office of Dispute Resolution (ODR).

 

During the mediation process the mediator, a neutral party, assists the parties to resolve the dispute. These discussions are usually confidential and if an agreement is reached the parties may sign a written agreement or memorandum of understanding to confirm their terms of agreement.

Civil claims filed at district courts follow the Colorado Rules of Civil Procedure. The court will expect that attorneys and pro se parties know and hold to the court rules and abide by them to their full extent. Thus, the litigation process usually takes more time; and it’s much more demanding and complex.

 

District court procedures give parties the opportunity to fully investigate and litigate all the elements of their claims. Typically, the amounts of money in dispute are significantly larger, and the court’s ruling may create business conditions that are not easy to manage.

 

Mediation experience has shown that some cases may require reconciling any underlying interests, which could be as important to the parties as resolving the dispute along with the amount of money claimed. These interests may include a party’s position in and out of their company, the company’s brand name or its position within the market and industry.

 

Private mediation provides the advantage of working to find a resolution while maintaining parties’ privacy. Many variables come into play while resolving these types of disputes, so it’s prudent to think seriously about engaging in mediation at an earlier opportunity.

 

Advantages to private mediation:

 

  • It’s an opportunity for parties to express themselves openly and to share their point of view in a safe environment. This can reduce potential adversarial attitudes prevalent in typical disputes, allowing mutually agreeable resolutions to be found.

  • It’s a good alternative to managing overall costs inherent to legal time and effort.

  • It provides a flexible risk management approach to resolving and managing  disputes, and can preserve assets before a case is filed with the court.

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