Gov. Lynch, at left, speaks with Chief Justice John T. Broderick, Jr., Justice Joseph Nadeau, and court mediation coordinator Peter Y. Wolfe before the governor signed the bill creating a funding source for mediation in small-claims cases.

Photo by Laura Mitchell

Effective Sept. 1, mediation services will be available to litigants in small-claims cases at 13 courthouses throughout the state, thanks to a bill signed earlier this month by Gov. Lynch.

SB 63 levies a $5 surcharge on the filing fee for small-claims cases to provide funding for paid mediators to be at the courthouse on days of small-claims hearings. (The courts advertised for mediators in the July 8 issue of Bar News. The deadline for applications is July 29. Check our online Classifieds).  The program will eventually expand to all of the district courts.

Peter Y. Wolfe, the state courts’ mediation coordinator (and Sullivan County Superior Court Clerk), said the program is designed to provide same-day service to litigants. If the mediation is unsuccessful, the litigants will still have opportunity to have their cases heard that day—in most cases, he said.

In 2003, the last year for which full statistics are available, approximately 18,000 cases were filed. Several district courts have used volunteer mediators to clear backlogs of small-claims cases.

The governor said the creation of the mediation program is an example of cooperation between the branches of government that is succeeding at improving services for citizens. 

“These cases are small in dollars, but important to the people who bring them,” said Chief Justice John T. Broderick, Jr., at a July 11 signing ceremony at the governor’s office. “Today represents a benchmark, a new beginning for our court system,” he added.

The legislation was co-sponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Joseph Foster and House Judiciary Committee Chair Cynthia Dokmo.