A news article in The Sun (online) reveals the true costs of forsaking Mediation and risking Court Action to settle a dispute. There is no guarantee of winning when taking Legal Action and a judge may not agree with your submissions, even if you have the backing of a solicitor/barrister. The below case is a stark reminder of the risks and the dire consequences that may prevail if a case is lost and costs awarded to the other side. These can be substantial, taking into account the cost of the professional services of the lawyers (both sides). In this particular case it has meant the loss of a £600,000 home and roof over their head.
As the ‘winner’ in the dispute is quoted as saying, “I don’t want to talk about it. The time to talk about it was eight years ago, but not now.” It sounds as though mediation was not attempted as things had got so bitter between parties over a long period of time. We ofetn hear this from our clientsthough, as in this case, “We were not good friends but we were polite and civilised.”
Hear is the article:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5181542/family-ordered-to-hand-their-600000-home-to-neighbours-in-fence-row-reveal-they-have-no-idea-what-will-happen-to-them/