Oct. 17, 2013
Enrique Romero
See more on Enrique RomeroADR Services Inc. Century City Specialties: class actions, entertainment, employment, catastrophic cases
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"It was a one-day mediation with a lot of follow-up," he said. "There were complications involving insurance coverage disputes. Most business cases have underlying issues with insurance, so I'm basically doing three mediations - between the plaintiff and the defendant, the defendant and the carriers and the carriers and other carriers."
Different policies are issued, different ones are triggered, Romero said, adding, "Assuming you have a reasonable settlement number, it's about how the insurance is going to be allocated."
As for the star power, Romero said, "I do a lot of entertainment cases. At the end of the day, most of them are regular folks."
What especially concerns Romero these days is the impact the judicial branch's budget woes and dwindling resources are having on mediations.
"One of the biggest problems we have is not having firm trial dates," he said. "There is no urgency on the part of defendants, especially if insurance is involved. If there is no trial date, and I'm a carrier, why put up money? This creates a problem."
Romero added, "Having a firm trial date with a known judge presiding over the trial is absolutely critical to get the parties to be realistic."
- Pat Broderick
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