Dobelle case on regents' agenda
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
While attorneys for the two sides won't comment, the University of Hawai'i Board of Regents has listed on its agenda for the July meeting next week several items regarding a mediated settlement with fired UH President Evan S. Dobelle.
The agenda for a special meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. Thursday needs to list the items so the board will be able to discuss any potential settlement with Dobelle that may be reached by then. Without the notice, no potential settlement could be discussed.
Dobelle
The agenda includes an item for "Discussion, deliberation and decision-making regarding mediated settlement of Dr. Dobelle's claims, if necessary."
Another agenda item calls for "Discussion, deliberation and decision-making regarding consideration and/or reconsideration of termination notice to Dr. Dobelle and to provide for procedures regarding termination issues concerning Dr. Dobelle's status as president/professor should the parties fail in their mediation efforts."
A third item deals with: "Consultation with attorneys regarding mediation, settlement issues, and other matters related to claims by Dr. Evan S. Dobelle."
The board, represented by attorney Barry Marr, and Dobelle, with lawyer Rick Fried and others, announced July 1 they would go into mediation to try to resolve issues without litigation. They chose former state Attorney General Warren Price III to handle the case.
Price has nearly two decades of experience with alternate dispute resolution, as mediation is officially called. While it is not legally binding, mediation is widely used to settle civil disagreements without going to trial and risking the associated costs and public exposure. It allows a structured negotiation process to explore confidentially the various avenues for settlement.
"The process is easily the most informal and flexible process in the judicial system," said Oakland, Calif.-based Randall Wulff, one of the nation's top mediators, who is paid $10,000 a day for his services.
"What sets it apart is nobody is sworn or cross-examined. There are no objections or rules of evidence.
"This is not a process by which a determination is made whether someone is telling the truth," Wulff said. "That's what a trial is about. Mediation is about evaluating litigation risk and attempting to reach an amicable resolution. Each hears the other side's point of view and evaluates the likelihood of whether a jury will believe it. The key word is 'compromise.' It will only succeed if the parties are willing to compromise."
Wulff said mediation traditionally was used in domestic and labor disputes, but its use has broadened so dramatically that virtually every civil lawsuit will make an attempt before trial at resolution through mediation.
In other matters on its agenda next week, the Board of Regents is scheduled to approve the appointment of Rockne Freitas as chancellor of Hawai'i Community College on the Big Island. If approved, Freitas' term would begin Aug. 3 and extend through July 31, 2007.
The former football star, one of Hawai'i's early draft picks for the National Football League in the 1960s, is vice president and executive director of Kamehameha Schools' Ke Ali'i Pauahi Foundation. He was named All-Pro in 1970 and 1972, and played for both the Detroit Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before leaving professional sports in 1978.
He has been a commissioner for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, a former trustee of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and a former vice president of Kamehameha Schools.
Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.
