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COMMUNITY MEDIATION UPPER SHORE NEWSLETTER 
March 2006 

Robert* called CMUS because his landlord had “cussed him out” the last time Robert tried to get the landlord to fix the broken linoleum in his kitchen .*  Robert didn’t pay his rent because he couldn’t get the floor fixed and his landlord sued him.  Robert couldn’t afford a lawyer and didn’t know what to do next.

Sondra called CMUS because she and her husband were still living in the same house but “We barely speak to each other.  We know one of us has to move out.”  But they can’t afford to hire two lawyers.

Mr. C and Mr. D have been arguing about who is responsible for fixing the lawnmower and how much each has to pay for the repairs.  Mr. D sued Mr. C in District Court for $240.

The Browns and the Smiths had been friends for years, until Mr. Smith rented Mr. Brown’s car for $400 a month.  Mr. Smith didn’t pay on time, Mr. Brown said, so he in turn missed his monthly payment to Daycore Motors.  Brown sued Smith for $5260.

In all these cases, and dozens of similar ones, CMUS sent out two letters, one to each side in the dispute, and offered to mediate the disagreement.  Robert and his landlord came to an agreement in one two-hour mediation session with our community mediators.  This case never went to court.  Sondra and her husband had four mediation sessions before they agreed on how to divide up their property.  During their final mediation session they wrote up an agreement which the court accepted once they filed for divorce four months later.  Mr. C and Mr. D were not able to reach an agreement at all, despite our mediators best efforts.  Their case actually went to court where the judge ordered Mr. D to pay the full amount to Mr. C.  And Mr. Smith and Mr. Brown?  They had gotten so angry with each other that Mr. Brown had no idea how ill his friend Mr. Smith had gotten in the last few months.   Now they are actually friends again, thanks to heart-felt conversation during their mediation sessions. 

Mediation is not for everyone, or every dispute, but it is an alternative you may want to consider.

 
POLICE OFFICERS GAIN NEW CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SKILLS

With the support of the Kent County Human Rights Commission CMUS recently conducted two days of training for twenty-six officers from five local law enforcement agencies.  Certified by the Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission for annual in-service training requirements, during the sessions officers practiced using new conflict management skills in pairs, role-playing the best ways to de-escalate disputes they encounter on the street and in homes.  One officer, who said he was not initially looking forward to the training, said afterwards, “ I learned about open ended questions, body language and other items that will help me in my job, probably on a daily basis.”

 
*All names in the mediation sessions described here have been changed to protect the privacy of our clients.