Dispute Avoidance

Fighting disputes is time consuming and expensive. Costello Surveyors is well placed to offer advice on the technicalities involved in disputes, to provide specialist expertise and to assist and support a client in dealing with a potential dispute.

The law Reform Commission produced a consultation paper on Alternative Dispute Resolution in July 2008. One comment the Commission made is revealing:

“Characteristic of almost every conflict is that each party’s standpoint is not considered acceptable by the other. However, one or more interests are often behind each standpoint and, once they have become known, they can form the key to a possibly effective solution.”

Each potential dispute is different and requires a tailored approach to preventing it turning into major formal dispute. That said; there are some things we can do that are common to most disputes:

• Identify the weaknesses in the other party’s position
• Identify the likely gains and losses for the other party
• Identify compromises and solutions

The experience gained by John Costello in acting as conciliator and arbitrator in disputes about construction work is very useful in guiding clients to a position where a dispute can be settled at an early stage, when the costs incurred and time spent are still relatively small.