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Small Claims Mediation Services

Mediation is an option for a variety of small claims disputes, and the Dayton Mediation Center works with the Dayton Municipal Court to provide mediation services to individuals going through the Small Claims process. If you are going to trial, contact us to learn how we can help.

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At mediation, individuals can:

  • Create a court-approved plan that works for everyone

  • Agree on a monetary amount and negotiate a payment plan

  • Restore communication and cooperation

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Benefits for plaintiffs include:

  • Getting paid without going through collection proceedings

  • Converting an agreement to a judgment if agreement is broken

  • Avoiding further court costs, trials, and appeals

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Benefits for defendants include:

  • Avoiding a judgment on your credit report

  • If agreement is fulfilled, *having case dismissed

    • *Defendant must submit dismissal to credit bureaus

  • Creating a payment plan that works for you

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Disclaimer: Dayton Mediation Center staff are not attorneys and will not provide legal or any other kind of advice.

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Scheduling a Mediation and Pricing

To schedule or discuss services, you can call the Center at (937) 333-2354. A mediation specialist will listen to the concerns you have about your situation and answer your questions. The staff will work with everyone involved to find an agreeable time and date for your mediation. You can also refer a case to mediation, either for yourself or others, by using our referral form.

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Small claims mediation services are free for individual City of Dayton residents  and Dayton Municipal Court referrals.

Preparing for Mediation

To prepare in advance, think about what would be helpful to have to discuss your situation. If there are specific materials or examples that would add to an explanation, you can bring those items to your mediation.

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In addition, before your mediation conversation, it may be helpful to think about the following questions:

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  1. What’s the hardest part of this situation for you?

  2. What do you want the other person(s) to understand about you that might help in resolving matters for him/her?

  3. If you could only have one thing come out of your conversation, what would that be?

  4. What are you willing to do to help that happen?

  5. What, if anything, do you want to understand about the other person?

  6. When you start your conversation, do you want to say anything about:

    • The content of your conversation: specific topics to discuss/not to discuss?

    • How you will talk with each other: guidelines or ground rules for your conversation?

    • How much time you want to spend for your conversation and/or if another session is needed?

  7. How confidential do you want/need your conversation with each other to be?

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