Can the other side be forced to mediate?

Mediation is a voluntary process and one party cannot force another party to mediate. However, there may be legal cost consequences for a party if they unreasonably refuse to mediate.

Mediation is a voluntary process and no party can “force” another party to mediate.

However, there can be consequences in court when reviewing legal costs for a party that has refused to mediate and a court may not award them all (or any) of their legal costs, and/or require them to pay the other party’s legal costs if they have unreasonably failed to participate in settlement processes, such as mediation.