Before completing the Notice of Mediation, please carefully read these guidance notes.
This Notice of Mediation is to be used where the Parties to the dispute have previously agreed to refer any dispute to Mediation under the BDT Mediation Rules, typically by way of inclusion of the BDT Mediation Model Clause in their underlying agreement/contract.
Where Parties have not previously agreed to refer any dispute to Mediation under the BDT Mediation Rules, they will need to execute a Mediation Agreement.
Parties who have executed a Mediation Agreement do not need to complete and serve a Notice of Mediation, and can immediately proceed to make an application for the appointment of a Mediator using BDT’s online application form.
In this section, set out the full names and contact details for each of the Parties and their Representatives, including a current email address for each where that is available as that will be the primary means of communication used by the Registry.
Be careful to ensure that you correctly name/identify any Party. For example, if your contract is with a company you need to ensure that the company is fully and correctly named as the other Party – not the trading name it may use or the name of any individual you may have been dealing with. If the contract is with a ‘trust’, name each of the trustees in their capacity as trustees of the trust as the Party to the Mediation ie, A and B as trustees of the XYZ trust.
You must ensure that all relevant Parties (and their Representatives, where they are known) are named and included in the Notice of Mediation.
There may be multiple Parties to your dispute. Simply adjust this template to provide details for each Party.
In this section, you need to specify:
(a) the Mediation Agreement that is being invoked; and
(b) the legal instrument or the relationship out of, or in relation to which, the dispute arises.
To proceed to Mediation, the Parties must have agreed to mediate under the BDT Mediation Rules.Â
In such cases all that is required is to attach a copy of the relevant provision in the contract and a copy of the execution page of the contract to the Notice of Mediation.
In this section, you need to set out in summary form the nature of the dispute. It is essential that sufficient information is given so that every other Party and BDT are suitably apprised of the nature of the dispute and the issues that will likely present in the Mediation.
Information concerning the nature and details of the dispute assist BDT where it is required to select and appoint a Mediator under the Rules.
In this section, you need to specify what it is you are seeking in terms of an outcome or outcomes from the Mediation ie, payment of money, agreement to act or to refrain from acting in a particular way, etc.
This is simply so that the Parties are suitably apprised of what the First Party (Applicant) is seeking such that they can understand the scope and nature of the claim(s) made against them and properly prepare for the Mediation.
In this section, you may specify the name and details of any person you propose to act as Mediator, or the experience/expertise that you consider would be necessary/helpful for the Mediator to have.
Please note it is not essential that you propose anyone to act as Mediator, or for the Parties to try and agree on anyone – in many cases, neither the Parties nor their Representatives will have sufficient experience and/or knowledge to make a fully informed decision. BDT’s Registrars are experienced in appointing the most appropriate Mediator to act in any particular case, and in the vast majority of cases, BDT will select and appoint the Mediator for the Mediation.
A Party may, after the expiry of ten Working Days from the date of service of the Notice of Mediation on every other Party, or earlier if the Parties have agreed on a nominee or the Parties have signed the Mediation Agreement in the form found at Appendix 2 to the BDT Mediation Rules, apply to BDT to appoint a Mediator by completing an Application for Mediation. The Application must include:
(a) the Mediation Agreement;
(b) the Notice of Mediation (if relevant);
(c) any document recording the Parties’ agreement as to the Mediator, or, where no agreement has been reached:
i. any proposal as to the Mediator, and if it exists, any response to that proposal; and
ii. any document recording the Parties’ agreement as to the preferred expertise of the Mediator, or where no agreement has been reached, any proposal as to the preferred expertise of the Mediator and, if it exists, any response to that proposal.
The Application may be made simply and easily online here.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your legal rights and obligations, we strongly recommend that you take independent legal advice from a lawyer experienced in mediation.
We suggest you try NZLS’ Find a Lawyer to locate someone who is able to provide the advice you require here.
[FIRST PARTY] hereby gives written notice of its intention to refer a dispute with [SECOND PARTY] to Mediation in accordance with the Mediation Rules of the Building Disputes Tribunal.
Provide the names and contact details of each Party to the intended Mediation.
First Party: | Attention:
| |
|---|---|---|
Address for service: | ||
Phone: | ||
Email: | ||
Representative: | ||
Name of firm: | ||
Address: | ||
Phone:
| ||
Email: | ||
Second Party: | Attention:
| |
|---|---|---|
Address for service: | ||
Phone: | ||
Email: | ||
Representative: | ||
Name of firm: | ||
Address: | ||
Phone:
| ||
Email: | ||
The dispute has arisen out of, or in relation to, [name the legal instrument or relationship out of, or in relation to which, the dispute arises].
The parties’ agreement to mediate this dispute under the BDT Mediation Rules is [identify the Mediation Agreement].
(Copy of Mediation Agreement attached)
[set out a brief description of the nature of the dispute]
[First Party] seeks the following outcome(s):
[First Party] makes the following proposals regarding the identity and/or experience or expertise of the Mediator:
Dated this | Day of | (month) | (year) |
Signed |
Name |
Click the link below to download our comprehensive guide and template.
