Loading…
8
Mediator told me to read the fine print, now I'm rethinking my whole settlement
I met with a mediator for a tenant-landlord dispute over a security deposit on the Northwest Side, and she flat out said, "If they offer you a settlement where you sign away your right to sue, make sure the amount covers a real lawyer down the road." I was about to accept $600 from my old landlord, but she warned me that this guy had a history of repeat filings, and that small print could block me from chasing unpaid interest later. The deposit was $1,250 plus 5% per year under Chicago's ordinance, so that settlement would've left me short by almost $200. She told me to ask for a full itemized deduction list first, which I never did, and it hit me that I was just trying to end the fight, not win it. I'm now drafting a counteroffer with her help, but I'm curious, has anyone else walked into mediation thinking it was just a formality and then got a reality check about the fine print? What did you do when the other side pushed for a release in exchange for less than you calculated?
1 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In1 Comment
andrewwilliams3d ago
Used to figure mediation was just a box to check before the real fight. Then a buddy of mine took a $400 settlement on a $900 claim because the release buried a line about giving up his right to come back for the rest, and that was it. Turns out the mediator was the only one who read the whole thing, so now a release gets read line by line before anything gets signed. Good on you for running the numbers on that 5% before cashing out early.
-1