Ross, and Edina, a young couple bought their first house in the beautiful green suburbs of North Toronto and became neighbors with Ricardo, who had been living in his home for 45 years. They had a shared driveway that divided their properties. Ricardo had always been taking good care of it and expected his neighbors to do the same. He felt frustrated when Ross didn’t do his share of snow and leaf removal, and it bothered him when Edina was loud on the phone and played music without headphones in the backyard.
Ricardo was an animal lover and liked to feed squirrels outside the backyard. This attracted more squirrels to the area, which Ross and Edina didn’t like, so they called for police involvement. Ricardo felt threatened and hurt by this.
Ross and Edina had a 3-week-old baby and feared safety, when Ricardo threw bricks of ice on their property, threatened to take down security cameras, and insulted their contractors who then canceled on them. They felt like Ricardo was trying to manage their shared driveway like his own.
Edina felt stalked by Ricardo in the backyard and wasn’t comfortable going outside with their young child or have people over.
She heard Ricardo talk derogatorily about her to Ross, and felt like this was intimidating behavior.
They wanted a peace bond to protect their daughter, and family.
They knew if they didn’t resolve their issues through mediation their only option left would be court proceedings. They felt like they couldn’t live like that anymore, they didn’t want to move, but the constant arguing negatively affected their lives. They realized they couldn’t solve their issues alone, but who has the time and money to go through long and costly court proceedings, which can easily leave them unhappy, and drained.
I met with each of them separately for an hour, and we talked about what was important to them and what they wished to get out of mediation. It was a priority for Ricardo to be considered a reasonable neighbor, wanted peace, and bylaws to be followed by his neighbors. Ross and Edina wanted to be able to enjoy their backyard, no communication between Ricardo and their contractors, and above all they also wanted peace.
When the four of us met for the mediation, I helped them cover all their issues, they came to an agreement and were able to save lots of time and money that court proceedings would have eaten up.
When you choose mediation the outcome is in your hands. Your mediator is impartial and doesn’t take sides, so when you choose your mediator it’s best if they don’t know you or the other party.
If you or someone you know is dealing with a conflict, contact me, and let’s talk! I offer a free 30-minute consultation to discuss whether or not mediation is right for you.