Caroline Harris Crowne discusses the enforceability of mandatory mediation clauses in her article for the Spring 2010 issue of the Oregon State Bar’s Litigation Journal. In recent years, courts across the nation have become increasingly willing to enforce agreements to mediate, and the effect is sometimes outcome-determinative. Plaintiffs in particular must tread carefully around mandatory mediation clauses at the peril of missing a statute of limitations, losing an opportunity for injunctive relief, or having meritorious claims dismissed after lengthy and expensive litigation.
