§ 5960 Dispute Resolution Fee Consideration

• •If you refuse to try solving a problem without going to court, the judge can decide if that was a reasonable choice.
• •If the judge thinks your refusal was unreasonable, you might have to pay more money to the other side for their lawyer fees.
• •This rule is about encouraging people to try solving problems in simpler ways before going to court.

You and your neighbor have a fight over a tree that fell on your fence. Your neighbor refuses to talk about it or try to solve it with a mediator, and you end up in court.

The judge might say your neighbor was unreasonable for not trying to solve the problem without going to court. Because of that, your neighbor might have to pay more of your lawyer fees.