Description of Study: Study of the effect of Rule 24.1, which mandates mediation for non-family civil disputes that are case managed, on two courts with mediation programs already in place (Ottawa and Toronto).
Method: Two-part questionnaires were sent to lawyers and litigants. Part A was to be returned within 2 days of mediation; Part B was to be returned within 10 days of the final disposition. Time to disposition comparison was done between cases filed prior to the commencement of the program and those that were filed after the program started.
Comparative: Yes
Comparison Groups: Mediated cases and pre-program non-mediated cases for time to disposition only
Sample Size: Satisfaction questionnaires were sent for 3210 cases. Lawyers returned Part A questionnaires for 35% of those cases and Part B questionnaires for 16%; litigants returned Part A questionnaires for 19% of cases and Part B questionnaires for 10%. The control group had a 72% response rate. For time to disposition, random samples of 704 mediated cases in Ottawa and 1618 in Toronto (of 2689 and 3539 cases, respectively) were selected, and 1093 cases were randomly selected for the control group (of 1437).
Variables Examined: Pace of litigation, costs to parties, satisfaction with the process, fairness of the outcome
Program Variables: Mandatory mediation conducted for a fee.
Case types: Civil
Findings: The settlement rate was 41% full, 13% partial in Ottawa, and 38% full, 21% partial in Toronto. For each case type, a higher percentage of Rule 24.1 cases were disposed of within 6 months than for cases in the control group (in which cases were managed but only a few were mediated). Time to disposition appeared to be quicker after Rule 24.1.
85% of litigants in both Ottawa and Toronto said mediation had a positive impact on cost, while 78% of lawyers in Toronto and 80% in Ottawa said so. Lawyers estimated cost savings to their clients to be more than $10,000 in 38% of mediated cases, to be less than $5000 in 34% of them, and between $5000 and $10,000 in 28% of them.
Satisfaction and fairness ratings were higher in Ottawa than Toronto, with 82% of litigants in Ottawa and 65% in Toronto indicating they were satisfied with the mediation process. In addition, 41% of litigants in Ottawa and 30% in Toronto thought the settlement was fairer than without mandatory mediation, while 16% and 21%, respectively, thought it was not. Lawyer responses were similar to those of litigants.