Court Declares a Settlement Week to Clear Old Caseload
By U.S. Courts, January 25, 2018
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The Western District Court of New York is one of the most congested courts in the country, receiving over 3,000 filings annually with individual judges’ caseloads at nearly 800. To reduce a long backlog of unresolved lawsuits, Chief Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr., revived a mediation strategy not used by the court since 1995: a settlement week.
The idea of a settlement week is simple, a court designates a week to bring civil litigants and mediators into the courthouse to resolve their disputes, saving valuable time and money for the parties, and for the court.
“I was once a civil litigator myself, so I understand the frustrations lawyers and clients face when they are paying fees and stuck waiting to have their disputes resolved,” said Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford, who served as the chair of the program’s planning committee. “It’s easy for litigants and attorneys to become entrenched in a lawsuit to the point where it’s too difficult for them to create an open dialogue on their own. Settlement Week brings parties back to the table and puts control of the decision in their hands.”
