Mediation Viable Option for Banks Facing Shareholder Disputes

Many banks are facing disputes with increasingly hostile shareholders frustrated with falling stock prices.

“These are complex cases with a lot at stake,” says Judge Ronald M. Sabraw (Ret.), a mediator and arbitrator with JAMS, the Resolution Experts (San Francisco).  “On the one hand you have shareholders looking to recover their money.  On the other, you have banks that do not need the distraction and expense of a shareholder suit, especially a class action.”

Judge Sabraw says mediation is tailor-made for these suits.

“Having a neutral third party who can cut through both the complexity of these cases, and mitigate the emotional sensitivities is a true asset in terms of resolution,” says Sabraw.  “It also allows banks and plaintiffs to secure a more timely resolution to these disputes than would be possible with full-blown litigation.”

Sabraw, who served for seven years as the complex litigation judge in Alameda County, has extensive mediation and arbitration experience involving shareholder suits and class actions.  He is available to write an article outlining the benefits of mediation for resolving disputes between banks and their shareholders. [08/10/2010]