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MEDIATION – DOES IT WORK?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published September 24, 2021
Mediation only works if both parties
are willing to compromise – and in many community association
disputes that is not the case. I have seen it over and over
again: Association attorneys drag out the mediation procedures,
making the owners believe that they are willing to settle. Their
clock is running – and in many cases they know from starters
that there will be no settlement. Remember: Even the best
mediator is helpless if the parties are not willing to
compromise. For many association attorneys it’s just the
beginning of a tactic that aims at financially ruining the
owner. In many of these cases associations don’t really have a
legal defense and know that they would eventually lose in court
– if the owner has enough money to get the case into the
court-room.
It’s all a matter of opinion, but from
my experience owners should always pick mediators that only have
a 1 (or 2) hour minimum and are close by. My suggestion to
owners: Make your demands, but if there is no solution within
the hour, have the mediator declare the mediation moot. Save
your money to make it into the court–room. Always remember: The
association has unlimited funds – partially your money – and can
drag a case out for a long time.
In summary: I’m not fond of mediation
since the system relies on two parties willing to find an
agreement. And that is – I’m sorry to say – often not the case.
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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