We propose a novel explanation for how pre-trial mediation might increase the likelihood of settlement. The mediator verifies the plaintiff's private information about the court's judgement and communicates this to the defendant, without disclosing confidential details that would disadvantage...

We model the settlement of a legal dispute when the trial outcome depends on the behavior of a strategically motivated judge. A defendant, who is uninformed about the level of harm that he has caused, makes a take-it-or-leave-it offer to an informed plaintiff. If the parties cannot agree on a...

The paper examines the distribution function of settlements over time in an attempt to explain the time it takes to negotiate the claim compensation in the context of motor disputes. Competing risk models are applied to a Spanish motor insurance database. The empirical analysis yielded two main...