The holidays mean many things to many people, but all too often in the modern day, they mean the acquisition of unsustainable debts by consumers seeking to fill shopping lists and take advantage of so-called “Black Friday” deals offered by retailers, often with easy credit terms that get people into trouble.  Credit and lay-away plans can give the impression of not having to pay at all, leading people into serious trouble when the holiday lights are put away and the bills start to come in.

One judge in Prima County, Arizona has been promoting mediation as a less expensive, less contentious and less court-clogging way for creditors to collect on debts.

Judge Anne Fisher Segal launched her mediation strategy in 2012.  Since then, about 60 debt cases on her docket have been successfully resolved using mediation.  She has also been aggressive in terms of consumer education, ensuring that people are aware of the mechanisms that work behind debt cases.  She has urged consumers to always respond to filing an official answer to any complaint they are served with regarding debts.  By filing an answer, they can prevent a summary judgment, which the creditors can request in the absence of a response.

Judge Segal promotes mediation in debt cases that come into her court because mediation is more consumer-friendly and leaves control of the situation in people’s hands instead of hers.  Many creditors are actually glad to negotiate, as they often purchased the debt at a discount and have much more room to make a profit on the purchase than the originating creditor.  As a result, mediation proves to be a very effective way of resolving debt cases.

Judge Segal says she will continue to aggressively push debt cases into mediation in order to free up the court calendar and leave more resolution power with the debtor.