Dispute Resolution
Alternative dispute resolution(ADR) is a way of solving conflicts without the use of litigation such as negotiation, arbitration or mediation (Blake et.al 2016). A civil dispute is the state of disagreement between an organization and a private individual, or between two private individuals. This text has focused a dispute between private individuals. Civil litigation describes the role of a lawyer in the court. This majors on the non-criminal side of actions.
To decide whether to settle the lawsuit between Pete and the ATV manufacturer, we are going to consider some of the steps in civil litigation and ADR.
The first step is Pleadings. In this step, each party files up their story in a paper work. The owner of the case will write a complain while the accused will write an answer. In our case, Pete will write the complaint while the manufacturer will write an answer. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The second step is discovery. This is a process that takes place after both parties have finished the pleadings. It involves gathering information on both parties to justify the accusations. This prevents information asymmetry. Some of the ways information can be obtained include witnesses, documents and site examination. The court will allow motions to clarify on a few things before trial begins.
The third step is trial. The lawsuit moves to this stage if the dispute has not been solved after discovery. The parties present a brief trial before the commencement of the main trial. They also present evidences which may include documents or exhibits. They then make a closing argument after presenting their case.
The final step is appeal. It takes place if one of the parties is not contented with the final decision made. The appealed decision is presented to an appellate court in support of evidences. It searches for errors and makes the final decision regarding the case. It may order the trial court to conduct the trial again or reverse the verdict.
The four processes of ADR are mediation, negotiation, arbitration and collaborative law. Mediation is the act of consulting a third party with special skills in communication to help in dispute resolution. Negotiation is a dispute solving method where people talk and avoid disputes. It is a dispute resolution method where the final decision is decided by a single person or a number of people, who renders the arbitration award.
Pete and the manufacturer should consider a few factors in deciding whether to settle the lawsuit, based on the ADR and civil litigation process. One of the factors is the chances of winning. The winning will be determined by the evidences and supportive information, if they decide to take the lawsuit. There is no adequate evidence that the manufacturer intentionally made the ATV defective. This reduces the chances of Pete winning the case.
The presence of alternative ways to solve the dispute is also a factor they will consider on whether to take the lawsuit (Lang 2017). ADR is the best alternative and the friendliest way to solve the case. This method will involve listening to both parties and looking for the friendliest resolution.
Cost benefit is also a consideration. Pete would like the lawsuit to be taken so that he can be compensated the $75000 he spent on medical bills. The manufacturer would prefer to go with the ADR so as to avoid the charges.
If I was Pete’s lawyer, I would advise him to take the ADR which has many forms such as collaborative law, negotiation, arbitration and mediation. The chances of him winning in the court are very minimal because he does not have enough evidence about the manufacturer. He claims that the All-terrain vehicle was intentionally made defective, a statement that he cannot give evidence about.
Taking a sample case, ADR is more practical. The case was about an overdue payment claim (Peters et.al 2019). The case was solved in 9 days. The claimants filed up a case due to the delays that were being experienced in the invoice. The case was solved peacefully as the main cause of delay was a problem with the paper works.