Boundary disputes: mediation the obvious choice - Court of Appeal

Friday, 1st October 2010

In a recent boundary dispute before the Court of Appeal, Lord Justice Mummery endorsed the use of mediation as a means of finding settlement terms without the need to involve the Courts.In Place of Strife has frequently cited boundary disputes as being ideal for mediation as the best outcomes, where both sides can gain something and neither need be an outright loser, are often simply not available to the Courts.In Pennock v Hodgson [2010] EWCA Civ 873, the case was decided in the defendant's favour at first instance and upheld on Appeal. Mummery LJ noted that "in many boundary disputes both sides ultimately lose something that might have been secured in a compromise". He concluded that "the unfortunate consequences of a case like this are that, in the absence of any compromise, someone wins, someone loses, it always costs a lot of money and usually generates a lot of ill-feeling that does not end with the litigation. None of those things are good for neighbours." Clearly the courts continue to encourage and endorse mediation.