Joint Discussion:

B – First of all, I would like to thank Mr. Nayak for joining this speedy out of court
settlement method for settling the issues between us.
- I believe before commencing the discussion I would like to know if Mr. Nayak has
some primary concerns or questions regarding the interests that have been put forth by
my counsel.
G – Ms. B I would like to ask from you that how and on what reasonability did Taj
Coromandle hotel came to a conclusion that the riot was a result of few poor quality of
onions. Don’t you think that the riot could have been politically motivated due to the
presence of the members of two opposite political parties?
G – Ms. B I think that there might be a human error on my part but don’t you think it was
your duty to revert back and apprise me about the poor quality of onions.
SPRIHA – For the sake of brevity what my client meant is that there was a negligence on the
part of Taj Coromandle Hotel in the dissemination of the information regarding the poor
quality of onions which robbed him of the opportunity to amend his mistake.
B – Mr. Nayak I believe that it would not be right to say that just because there were 2
opposite political parties present in the same room, the riot was politically motivated.
This event was of great importance to our hotel since it was the wedding reception of an
eminent person belonging to a well - established political party.
Having said that just for the sake of clarity, I would like to bring this to light that whenever
we host any event, we always solicit the feedback of our guests regarding the food and the
other services provided by us. The same was done during this event as well. It was very
disheartening to receive negative feedbacks from our guests regarding the quality of food.
This led to a fight.
G – Moreover, Ms. B I think that there might be a human error on my part but don’t you
think it was your duty to revert back and apprise me about the poor quality of onions.
A – Mr. Nayak your human error cannot defeat the fact that there was insufficiency of
services on your part which actually led to a colossal damage not only to our hotel but also to
our clients.
G – Ms. B I believe that there needs to be some negotiation regarding the amount that you
have demanded payable on account of my human error.
A – Mr. Nayak the amount that we have quoted in our interests is commensurate to the losses
that have been caused to us as a result of the riot which was caused due to the poor quality of
the food.
G – Ms. B but you see that I am just a vegetable vendor with not so many assets in my hand
to be able to pay such a humongous amount. I really wish if we could re – negotiate the terms
of settlement.
Ashish – Mr. Nayak we completely understand your position and are completely open to re –
negotiate the terms of settlement.
ANOUSHKA PVT CAUCUS
GAURI PVT CAUCUS-
PRIVATE CAUCUS:
G - Mediators. I would like to have a two minute window for having a pvt caucus w you.
Amulya: Sure Mr. Nayak. I kindly request the other party to please leave the meeting so that
we could accommodate this pvt meeting.
G – Thank you so much Sir.
As you know, I am a common man and I earn my daily livelihood by selling fruits and
vegetables. I would really appreciate if we are able to re – negotiate on the amount of
damages that I have to pay. Although the hotel failed to revert back to me on the poor quality
of onions but I would like to accept that yes, due to the sharp rise in the price of onions I
mixed some tomatoes with it not only for Taj Hotel but also for the other hotels I have
contracts with.
I am the only earning member out of the 10 members of my family and I cannot afford to lose
my contract in these difficult times so I bribed the chefs by providing them Rs. 200 per day
so that they do not inform the management about my misconduct.
Sir, I am aware of my mistakes and I am willing to pay losses to some extent.
Amulya: Mr. Nayak since you are agreeing to pay damages to some extent is there any
amount that you and your counsel have already decided upon to put forth before the other
party?
I think that I would like my counsel to speak on the same.
Spriha: I would like to put forth the best interests of my client. May I proceed Sir.
Amulya: Sure
Spriha: Thankyou Sir. My client, Mr. Nayak, sells fruits and vegetables for earning. He is a
common vendor who could not afford sufficient quantities of onions due to the spike in the
price of the same. During these unprecedented circumstances, wherein the conditions are
really harsh especially for a common man, my client cannot not afford to lose his contract
and thus, he engaged in malpractices. He admits his misconduct and is willing to pay
damages worth Rs. 40 lakhs.
G – Sir, moreover, I need a guarantee from Taj Hotel that my annual supply contract with
them would remain intact and that everything remains confidential so that I do not lose my
contracts with the other hotels.
Spriha: Sir, just for more clarity my client is willing to pay damages up to Rs. 40 lakhs only if
the annual supply contract with Taj Coromandle hotel remains intact. However, he is not in a
financial position to pay more than that.
My client needs a surety from Taj Hotel with respect to the confidentiality of information.
Any disclosure of the same would cause irreparable damage to my client’s reputation and he
would be deprived of his livelihood.
Amulya: Okay Mr. Nayak, now I will be summarizing what we have discussed in this caucus
and your interests thereof. Having said that, I have made a note of the fact that you are
conscious of the mistakes on your part and considering the same you are also willing to pay
damages. On being asked about the amount that you are willing to pay, your counsel
explained your financial predicaments and gave me a figure of Rs. 40 lakhs which you are
agreeing to pay which is when the private information is kept confidential and the annual
contract with the hotel remains intact as the pre – requisites of the same.
Is there anything more that you would like to add?
Spriha – No Sir, thankyou
Settlement:
Amulya: Okay so now I believe that we have reached the final stage of our mediation process
wherein both the parties are required to arrive at a mutually beneficial conclusion. So I
request the counsels to discuss the same.
Spriha: Thankyou Mr. Mediator. I would like to highlight that my client is willing to pay
damages worth Rs 40 lakhs. However, he has one condition for the same – he wants his
annual supply contract with Taj Coromandle Hotel to remain intact. Furthermore, he needs
surety regarding the confidentiality of information.
Ashish: Addressing the interests of my client, I would like to inform you that my client is
willing to accept damages worth Rs. 40 lakhs on the pre requisite provided by you. Taj
Coromandle Hotel is even willing to provide confidentiality for the same.