Sample article. The Court of Appeal has again confirmed that a party who unreasonably refuses to mediate may be penalised in costs, even where it goes on to win at trial.
The judgment restates the familiar factors: the nature of the dispute, the merits, the cost of ADR compared with the claim, and whether mediation had a reasonable prospect of success.
For IP litigants the practical message is unchanged: a refusal to engage should be reasoned and documented at the time.
