JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Baptist Convention and Missouri Baptist University must sit down and discuss possible solutions to their ongoing legal battle.
In 2002, the convention sued five of its agencies that decided to elect their own trustees — a right previously granted to the convention.
In the latest ruling, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brown ordered mediation after listening to arguments at a hearing Aug. 7.
Brown asked: “What about getting together just to find out” if mediation would work? He added he usually does not force litigants to try mediation. But he did so in spite of objections from convention attorney Stanton Masters.
Masters noted the convention would not be interested in discussing issues if the university does not have a new proposal to offer. “We’ve been down that road with the college,” he said, because the university’s insurer had asked the convention to consider mediation last fall.
University attorney Clyde Farris argued for mediation as a means “to get the matter out of the lawyers’ hands.” A lot of time and too much money already have been spent on litigation, he added.
In mediation, a third party helps disputing parties determine a fair and mutually acceptable agreement. Mediation does not always end in a resolution.
Share with others: