Also, to carry through would require suing the bank, the title company, perhaps a couple of other lawyers and, most troublesome, their father's own trust. Edwin, especially, was uncomfortable with Joseph's misdeeds coming out in open court. Wearing a dark gray business suit and conservative tie and boasting an impressive pedigree in academics and business, Edwin was clearly a man who valued respectability. His father's legacy was at stake.
The parties spent most of the morning framing the issue. Ross floated a few ideas with little success. By lunch, they were still at a thorough impasse. The group continued to talk as they ate Cuban takeout. Donald became increasingly antagonistic, bringing up extraneous complaints: Sarah was the "difficult aunt"; she co-conspired with Joseph to raid his grandmother's trust; Angela, Sarah's sole heir, was really after the money; Angela was a liar and she'd falsely accused him of libel, he said. Donald was derailing the mediation.Suddenly, Ross' folksy demeanor vanished. He glared at Donald. "Get on board with me and start getting at peace with this!" he said sharply.
Donald mumbled, narrowed his eyes. Ross then delivered a lecture, reminding Donald emphatically that he was not a trustee but an advisor, that he lacked decision-making power.
Jan watched the smackdown disapprovingly. Throughout the day, she regularly glanced over at her son, reading his mood. It was as if she wanted to lean on him and protect him at the same time. The mediator had taken a big risk, but, "I felt I had to do something or the whole negotiation might've gone down the tubes," he said later.
Ross then backtracked, resorting to his easy manner and thanking Donald for his contribution, assuring him that the scolding wasn't personal.
Ross suggested he meet with just the lawyers in a third room. They launched a rapid-fire exchange of legalese and argued over figures. "Let's not become forensic accountants," the mediator cautioned. The trio left the room with Cavonis more or less conceding that his clients' quarter-million dollar claim was closer to $150,000. They had effectively narrowed the gap.
Mid-afternoon. Time for a push. Ross met with Angela and her attorney. "Sarah's not responsible for them being out the money," Wallace claimed. "They just want her to pay for all of [Joseph's] sins.""Yeah, but she got benefit from the money," the mediator countered.
"I'd rather see 'em have to sue their father's estate," Wallace muttered.
Then Ross delivered an analogy that proved the turning point in the case: "If I rob a bank and somehow you end up with the money, that doesn't mean you get to keep it. It doesn't mean that Sarah gets to keep the money just 'cause she didn't drive the getaway car."
Wallace looked downward. Ross' assertion came as no surprise to him. Angela cocked her head in recognition. "You're playing Russian Roulette with Sarah's money," Ross continued, on a roll. "That scares the Bejesus outa me. If you lose, it may leave her destitute. If you lose the case, Sarah might end up on Medicaid at the local home. The risk here is much higher than a negotiated settlement."
Representing her aunt, the plaintiff, Angela had come into the mediation expecting to receive money. She now had to confront the reality that Aunt Sarah would make a payout to the other side. "The shift in her thinking, her willingness to pay, enabled us to move forward," Ross said later.
Ross urged Wallace to make an offer, just to get things started. After conferring with his client, he scrawled out a figure on paper. It was small, less than you'd pay to buy a decent used car, but Ross had what he needed.
The baton had been passed. The anchor leg had begun. Ross made like a sprinter, zipping from room to room, delivering counter-offers, using the smaller spaces to meet with lawyers and discuss strategy. He got the sides to agree to keep their dollar demands within a certain bracket, a relatively small, manageable number. He also asked Cavonis to prevent Donald from polluting the well. Cavonis said it was under control, that Donald wasn't that much of a problem.
From there it became a matter of closing the bracket. It was a classic back-and-forth, similar to what takes place at a car lot, with each side inching toward the middle. Apparently everyone saw the finish line, because the collective mood brightened some.
Ross asked Edwin and Jan to join him in the conference room, purposely leaving Donald on the sundeck. A few seconds later, Donald bustled into the room on his own. Jan was glad he did. She was getting frustrated with the way her son had been treated, she said later. Excluding him, even that late in the game, could have scuttled the negotiation.