Chapter 18 - How to Prepare for and What to do During a JDR: The Power Pole Case

Summary

Signing up for JDR is easy; preparing for the mediation itself takes real work. Counsel and their clients need to be ready. All sides need to know what kind of briefs are required. Will the lawyers be expected to make traditional legal arguments? How will the judge start the JDR? Will the judge expect the parties to base their arguments on legal precedent? Should counsel reveal their best offer to the judge at the outset? If not, when?

The Power Pole Case provides a provisional set of answers to these questions. We describe the ways in which the judge and the parties interacted during the JDR. From there, we shift to a series of eighteen tips that can help lawyers and their clients prepare properly for JDR, drawn from our study of The Well Fire Case, The Negligent Land Transfer Case, and The Medical Malpractice Case—all three of which are also presented in the book's Appendix.

The Power Pole Case

On a spring day in the late 1990s, three individuals drove a grain feed truck on or near the Happy Valley Farm Ltd. in central Alberta. The truck was mounted with an unloading auger which, when extended, moved feed out of the truck bed through its spiral shaft. While driving underneath power lines, the still-extended auger—usually retracted during transport—collided with the lines, damaging them. Happy Valley hired a journeyman electrician to repair the damage. To access the lines, he climbed a nearby power pole that suddenly broke and fell on top of him.

As a result of the fall, he fractured his left pelvis and right elbow, and suffered major contusions and additional minor injuries requiring several surgeries and extensive physical therapy. On top of the expenses and lost income related to medical care and rehabilitation, as well as the damages associated with his pain and suffering, he alleged that his injuries inhibited his ability to perform basic household tasks, leaving him dependant on the assistance of others. Further, he claimed that the lasting effects of his injuries would make it impossible for him to fully compete with his healthy coworkers, disadvantaging him professionally and limiting his opportunities for future advancement.