On December 18, the Fujian High Court shared a mediation case in a civil case. The man was rejected for reuniting after failing to be admitted to the establishment, and then jumped to his death at his ex-girlfriend's residence. The man's parents sued his ex-girlfriend in court and claimed 350,000 yuan. Later, the judge mediated and the two parties reached an agreement. The following is the sharing of the judge in this case, Lan Liqun, member of the party group and vice president of the Luoyuan Court:
A lawsuit with no winners
In 2021, the man Li Ping confirmed his relationship with his colleague Xu Li. In July 2022, due to various factors such as family and work, the two agreed to temporarily separate. Xu Li said that if Li Ping can pass the preparation exam and be admitted to the unit as a regular employee, he will consider reuniting. Unfortunately, Li Ping was not admitted to the recruiting unit. Li Ping has a deep affection for Xu Li and has looked for Xu Li many times, Xu Li was a little hesitant at first, but finally rejected Li Ping's request to reunite. In February 2023, Li Ping learned from his colleagues that Xu Li had blocked him and claimed that he had a new boyfriend, so he went to Xu Li's residence late at night. After calling Xu Li to seek a meeting and being refused, Li Ping finally chose to commit suicide by jumping off the building in the fire emergency passage of Xu Li's residence, and later died after rescue efforts failed.
In July 2023, Li Ping's parents sued Xu Li in court for violating the right to life, requesting that Xu Li be ordered to compensate for various losses totaling 350,000 yuan.
As soon as I received the file, the clerk told me the story behind the case: "This case caused a stir in our local area at the beginning of the year. I heard that Li Ping's parents went to Xu Li's place of work and made trouble with their family several times, and they also posted a lot of ugly words on the Internet. Xu Li's unit leaders came forward to reconcile many times but were unsuccessful, and her life was very affected. "The local county town is not big, and a little wind and grass can set off a storm all over the city, and no matter what the circumstances of such a suicide case are, Xu Li, as a party, cannot avoid being caught in the whirlpool of public opinion. After a preliminary understanding of the case and a review of similar cases, I realized that "if you want to really resolve this dispute, mediation may be a better option." ”
A tense trial
I was at a loss, and with the curiosity to further explore the case, I decided to contact the defendant separately to test the depth of his feelings for his ex-boyfriend and try to open the key to mediation.
"It didn't have anything to do with me, I answered his call asking to meet, but I just didn't think it was appropriate to meet late at night, so I refused his request, and he was in a calm mood at the time, and told me that it was okay and didn't say anything else...... I felt that I had done nothing wrong, that I should not compensate, and that I did not agree to mediation. Unexpectedly, the communication with the defendant Xu Li was not smooth at all. Throughout the conversation, she was always wary, reluctant to open up to us, and very resistant to compensation.
The plaintiff insisted on paying 350,000 yuan in compensation, and refused to give a cent.
In this case, I decided to hold a court session first, so that the two sides could collide head-on in the courtroom and hear who was more reasonable.
"She has been mentally and financially controlling my son in love, and often says bad things about me as a mother to my son in WeChat chats, encouraging my son to leave us if he gets married, and she is the one who caused my son to commit suicide......" During the trial, the plaintiff was very emotional, repeatedly mentioning some chat records that had little relevance to the trial of the case, and added his own speculation and reasoning. But I did not stop it, and if the plaintiff's long-suppressed emotions could be expressed through the trial, it might be more conducive to promoting the mediation of the case.
However, during the trial, the defendant Xu Li did not appear in court, but entrusted a lawyer with carte blanche.
"Judging from the available evidence, there is no causal relationship between the death of the defendant and the plaintiff's son, and there is no fault ......," the defendant's lawyer stated one by one from the constitutive elements of the infringement. "Although the death of the plaintiff's son, as a person with full capacity for civil conduct, is regrettable, it does not mean that the defendant has to bear legal responsibility for it......"
After a trial, I could feel the pain of the plaintiff's loss of independence. I had expected her to "spill" during the trial, but she behaved better than I thought, and I promptly affirmed the plaintiff's restraint in the trial. Not long after the trial, the plaintiff's lawyer expressed to us his willingness to reduce the compensation amount to 100,000 yuan.
But the defendant's lawyer secretly told me that Xu Li was only willing to compensate 5,000 yuan. Based on my last contact with the defendant, I did not immediately contact the defendant to do mediation work, but changed my mind and worked through her lawyer.
"The deceased is gone, and the living will continue to face the future of life. It is hoped that the parties will consider further mediation after the trial to facilitate the conclusion of the case. "I expressed my attitude. For this kind of dispute where the parties are particularly confrontational and the contradictions are particularly acute, we cannot rush into it, and we need to appropriately "deal with it coldly" and give the defendant a certain amount of time to calmly consider.
50,000 yuan, she is willing to compensate 50,000 yuan at most. "On the first day after the National Day holiday, I received a call back from the defendant's lawyer, who told me that this was the best result she could strive for.
"The gap between the two sides is only 50,000 yuan, there should be a play, it's time to strike while the iron is hot and let the parties meet!" I told the clerk to arrange the time immediately, notify both parties to come to court, and do another mediation.
A sincere meeting
Although I have done a certain amount of preparation, I am still not very sure about the mediation of this case. Is the plaintiff willing to give in again?" "If the plaintiff does not agree to back down, he can ......" The old president is also giving me advice.
Considering the plaintiff's resentment towards the defendant, I consulted with his lawyer and decided to adopt the "back-to-back" mediation method first. Before approaching the parties, I convened the lawyers of both parties and asked for the opinions of the two lawyers, and found that they were very willing to facilitate mediation. It's a great opportunity. I settled the plaintiff in another mediation room for a short break and started communicating with the defendant first.
During the communication, I carefully observed the defendant's demeanor and movements, and noticed that she had gone from being indifferent and indifferent last time to showing some expectation and longing in her eyes this time, so I asked the clerk to bring a glass of water. It is probably my last contact that made a difference, and the defendant has significantly relaxed his guard against us and is more willing to communicate with us.
"I understand your difficulties very well, and I know that you have endured a lot of unwarranted criticism lately. I think Li Ping's death is also something you don't want to see. But the plaintiff worked hard to raise this only son. He committed suicide by jumping off a building because of an emotional dispute with you, and the pain of the lonely old man can be imagined, how will they live in the future?"
"Can you consider looking at the good experience that you and Li Ping had a good relationship with before, and then appropriately increase the compensation fee as a psychological comfort to the elderly?"
"I've heard that your life has been affected to some extent recently and you have been forced to quit your job and work in a foreign country to earn a living. If the mediation is successful today, we will also try to do the plaintiff's work, no longer interfere with your life, so that you can each continue to live well. ”
……
In the mediation room, I sat next to the defendant, put myself in her shoes, and had a heart-to-heart communication with her for one hour.
Faced with the plaintiff who is still deeply suffering from the loss of his child, I feel that patient listening is the best medicine to heal the wound. Knowing how to listen in mediation is often more important than being able to speak. In the process of communication, the plaintiff poured out the pain of losing his son to me. Seeing that she was more emotional, I gently patted her on the shoulder, held her hand, and calmed her emotions. The plaintiff pleaded with a serious face and said to me, "Judge, I want to meet the defendant and ask him face to face." Seeing that her emotions had gradually eased, I decided to let them mediate "face-to-face".
"Why are you so ruthless? After Li Ping died, I didn't see you come to see us. After such a long time, have I ever made trouble in your unit? It is precisely because you are young and have a long way to go in the future, and we don't want to make excessive demands on you, we just want to see your attitude!"
"Auntie, I wanted to see you, but I'm scared...... During this time, I was in the same pain as you. Li Ping is gone, I will never be able to step over this hurdle in my heart in the future......" As soon as the defendant spoke, tears burst out of his eyes, and his suppressed emotions were vented. It turned out that she was not indifferent, but she didn't dare or want to face this sad past.
In this meeting, both parties released their long-suppressed emotions. The words in my heart were said to my face, and the two hearts that had been estranged by this tragedy gradually approached, and the mediation saw hope.
"The deceased can't survive, but your life has to go on, I don't think he wants to see you face off in court under Jiuquan......" Seeing this, I took love as a line and held the hands of both sides together.
Eventually, the two sides let go of their grievances. The mediation work, which lasted for two months, finally came to a successful conclusion after a four-hour "tug-of-war". I, the judge's assistant, and the clerk forgot to miss the hunger of lunch, and we were relieved and inexplicably happy, and we all felt that this shift was worth it!
(The names of the people in this case have been changed)
According to the Xiaoxiang Morning News