In 1988, the Michigan Legislature established the Community Dispute Resolution Program (CDRP) to promote non-court alternatives for resolving disputes. Alternative dispute resolution, known as ADR, offers a quicker and less adversarial way to resolve legal disputes than the traditional court process.
Mediation, the most commonly used ADR procedure in Michigan, involves a trained neutral party who helps the parties in a dispute reach their own resolution. Matters, ranging from small claims to domestic relations to complex civil cases, are resolved through mediation. Mediation is also used with juvenile truancy cases, child welfare cases and contested adult guardianship matters.
Judges who have a written ADR agreement have found that, in many cases, parties are able to resolve their differences with the assistance of a trained mediator. They have further found that a high percentage of citizens are satisfied with the agreements written and appreciate the collaborative mediation process as an alternative to the adversarial litigation process.
A growing number of courts are encouraging – and in some cases – ordering parties to mediation. Many Michigan courts have SCAO-approved court ADR plans.
Most cases mediated by community dispute resolution centers were referred by courts. Among matters referred were post-judgment parenting time disputes, small claims, landlord tenant cases, contested adult and child guardianship matters, other contested probate actions and general civil cases in both district and circuit courts.
Organizations and individuals have also found that mediation is helpful and useful in resolving non-court disagreements, such as those that arise in the following areas: care-giving, business, Civil Rights, domestic relations, family disputes, neighborhood relations, real estate, Special Education and generally any situation where both sides agree to use mediation!