When we send a Directions Questionnaire to a client involved in litigation, it asks for any dates they are unavailable during a specified period.
The author has just penned another legal update where we ask clients to tell us of any changes to their availability after the initial period given in the Directions Questionnaire, so that we can notify the court accordingly.
However, it seems this non-availability information does not apply to the telephone mediation appointments used before a full court hearing.
One of our clients responded to the Directions Questionnaire advising of non-availability ‘for the whole of September 2025’.
We then received a court order listing a telephone mediation for 8 September 2025.
We pointed out what was stated in the Directions Questionnaire.
We were told the mediation could not be delayed for that long; it was a take-it-or-leave-it choice.
Our client is on the other side of the world during September 2025 and cannot attend a telephone mediation.
The irony is that the case will now proceed to a court hearing without mediation, in about a year’s time!
Of course, some may say that the system should be more flexible in attempting to resolve disputes without having to go to court. Others may argue that litigants should be willing to take mediation calls in the middle of the night if it means not having to go to court unless absolutely necessary.
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Whatever your personal view, one thing seems certain: mediation appointments need to be taken when offered, as they are unlikely to be rearranged by more than a few days.
If you have faced a similar scheduling issue with mediation, our legal team at Lawgistics can liaise with the court and protect your position. Call our telephone helpline or speak to our casework team for support.
