Foreclosure mediators appointed to oversee program

By Buck Wargo

Friday, Aug. 28, 2009 | 3 a.m.

The Nevada Supreme Court announced Aug. 24 the appointment of 97 mediators who will work with lenders and homeowners trying to stave off foreclosure.

The appointments came as the court announced the first two mediations are scheduled for Sept. 14. The program that started July 1 gives homeowners the option of requesting mediation after they are served a notice of default.

More than 400 people applied to serve as mediators for sessions expected to last from one to six hours. In the next year, at least 400 mediators will oversee about 1,000 mediation sessions a month, said Bill Gang, spokesman for the Supreme Court.

“The reason we need so many is that not all mediators will be available all the time for cases,” Gang said. “They work on a part-time basis. If you have an attorney with a big case coming up, they have to focus on that and will not be able to do mediation.”

Mediators include attorneys, retired judges, trained mediators and 37 Supreme Court settlement judges, Gang said.

Lenders and homeowners each pay the mediators $200. More than 650 people have applied for mediation with that number expected to increase as foreclosures continue.

The first mediators were trained this month. More mediators will be named after a second training session in September. They received eight hours of training on the foreclosure process and mediation techniques, and four hours of orientation, Gang said.

“We have always had people willing to step up and help the justice system work, and this kind of program is very worthwhile,” Gang said. “There is a certain amount of compensation, but they are not doing it for the money. Most of the people are lawyers, and they could make more money in their private practice. This is their way of contributing.”

One new mediator is Matthew Addison, a commercial litigator with McDonald Carano Wilson. Addison’s background is working mechanics’ liens, construction defect and breach of contract cases. Having served as a pro tem judge and having attended more than 150 settlement conferences during his legal career, Addison said his experience will be helpful even though his background isn’t in foreclosures.

“I am not trying to be a hero. We are all trying to kick in time during a crisis,” Addison said. “None of us is doing this for the money. This is something we are trying to do to ease the burden of foreclosures. We would do it for no pay.”

Addison said he accepts the reality that not every mediation he participates in will help someone stay in the house. The lenders may face constraints and not be willing to work out a deal in all cases or maybe the homeowner isn’t in a position to do so, he said.

“I have to be optimistic about it and do it in good faith,” Addison said. “The closing comment from the mediator trainers is that even if negotiations keep one family in a home, you have success.”