Settlement Week Saves Backlogged Courts Time Lawyers Work For Free To Resolve Complaints Before They Reach Court

Attorneys on Monday set aside their normal roles to help opposing sides reach friendly agreements.

For five days, they will work for free to help plaintiffs and defendants reach out-of-court solutions in Kootenai County civil cases.

More than two dozen area lawyers volunteered their services to act as mediators in Settlement Week, an annual event intended to clear up the crowded calendar in Kootenai County court.

“The court dockets are so backlogged,” said Ruth Fullwiler, a local attorney and coordinator for Settlement Week. “It breaks up the logjam.”

Civil cases must be scheduled around criminal cases. Sometimes those civil cases can wait years before going to trial.

The 100 cases being heard this week were nominated by attorneys or judges who felt the cases, or portions of those cases, could be settled before going to trial.

Cases selected for mediation include divorces, personal injury cases, business disputes and small-claims appeals. Mediators work with both parties during a two-hour time period. When an agreement is reached, the presiding judge makes the settlement official.

Even if parties in a case don’t reach an agreement, sometimes at least a few sticking points can be worked out before going to trial, Fullwiler said.

“Even if it settles part of the case, it has moved forward,” she said.

The program began in 1991 with 56 cases nominated. Of those, 48 went to mediation and 20 were actually settled.

In 1998, 162 cases were nominated and 107 went to mediation. Of those, 69 were settled.

Janell Burke, law clerk to Kootenai County Judge Gary Haman, said mediation often gives parties a flexible way to resolve their differences.

Sometimes it’s a letter of recommendation from a former employer or a letter of apology.

“Those are the things that normally wouldn’t happen at trial,” she said. “The parties have the power in the case.