THE MEDIATION OF VARIANCE CONFLICTS: AN EMPIRICAL EVALUATION

Since 1982, the New Castle County Superior Court in Delaware has promoted mediation, which attempts to resolve filed conflicts prior to trial. This paper evaluates how spatial land-use conflicts channel through mediation and litigation. Data suggest that mediations fail because one of the key disputing parties does not play a direct role in mediation and litigation. The data then inform a predictive model of litigated outcomes in which disputants share in the responsibility for conflict. By alleviating some of the uncertainty of litigation and proposing win-win, mediated outcomes, the model may be used facilitate future mediations.