In an earlier blog last year, we considered the position relating to mediation following a change to the Civil Procedure Rules in October 2024 to include ‘promoting or using alternative dispute resolution’ in the overriding objective. We delved into this deeper earlier this year, looking at the advantages of mediation. The High Court has now passed comment on the matter of Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) in Wilson v Stroud Green Housing Co-operative Ltd [2025] EWHC 1508 (KB) and so this is something to look at further
In the case of Wilson v Stroud Green Housing Co-operative Ltd the Claimant applied for a 12 month stay shortly before Particulars of Claim were due to be sent to the Defendant to enable the parties to engage in ADR. The application for the stay was rejected and the Claimant appealed this decision. The appeal was rejected, and the Court confirmed that factors such as delay, the progress made in the case by the parties, and fairness were all things to be taken into consideration by the Court when deciding whether to grant a stay for the parties to explore settlement. Hill J confirmed that the progress of court proceedings had been correctly prioritised at first instance.
It should be noted that Wilson v Stroud Green Housing Co-operative Ltd was a defamation case with a short 12 month limitation period, which is in place to deal with these sorts of claims quickly. Accordingly this case may be distinguished from other cases such as contract and land disputes with a longer 6 years limitation period. However, what this case does tell us is that the Courts will not automatically grant stays, especially lengthy ones, for the parties to engage in ADR despite the changes to the Civil Procedure Rules. Whilst mediation and other forms of ADR remain important and beneficial in Court proceedings, they cannot be used as a ploy to delay litigation or extend otherwise strict time limits and deadlines. So, should you still mediate? The answer is yes where possible. Our comments made in our previous blogs still stand, however, it is important that parties are aware that litigation must still progress despite any ADR attempts.
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