THE MOOT COURT BENCH MEDIATION COMPETITION 2022

SEMIFINAL ROUND

A BLOOD BATH
by Vivek Krishnaswamy

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
REQUESTING PARTY – CHARLIE

Charlie is extremely hurt and upset by the situation the co-founders are facing. BiN
has never come between Charlie and Billie’s friendship before, but the pair have
stopped spending time out of the office. Charlie misses hanging out with Billie –
eating out, playing golf, watching movies and taking trips – and wonders if Billie
misses their times together as well. Billie’s dating life seems to be the priority
suddenly. Charlie knows deep down this has affected their professional relationship
but is not sure about revealing these feelings because it comes off as “weak”.

Charlie has also started questioning Billie’s commitment to their original business
model. How could they enter the American market without adequately servicing their
existing demand and building development programs for rural populations of Sri
Lanka? Charlie believes that Billie is being greedy, and this will not benefit the
Company in the long run given the elaborate process, large investment and risk
involved in entering America.

© Vivek Krishnaswamy, 2022

All rights reserved. This work was especially prepared for the National Mediation Competition 2022, organized
and hosted by the Moot Court Bench, Sri Lanka. Permission has been granted to the Moot Court Bench to
reproduce it. The work may not be used for any other purpose. No part of this work may be reproduced or
copied in any form or by any means, or translated, without the prior permission in writing of the author or the
Moot Court Bench.
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Charlie is also worried about the current political and economic climate – tensions
between the US and other key economic giants, overturning of Roe v. Wade, interest
rates being at an all-time high – it does not make for a good time to make irreversible
decisions. There is also a high chance of being seen in a negative light for trying to
leverage the sad state of women’s rights in America.

The cost of catering to rural areas is about USD $100,000 - $200,000.

The cost of building another manufacturing plant in China to cater to their increasing
Asian demand is around USD $500,000.

The cost of starting a new product line (just prototypes) for men would be USD
$20,000 - $50,000.

Charlie knows it will be much more expensive to enter the US but has not done the
calculations.

At this point Charlie is not sure what would be the best way to proceed, but there are
a few things that are clear – it’s time to fix the relationship, if not for anything else, out
of respect for how long the two have known each other; it’s time to start giving back
to the community before doing anything else for the benefit of BiN; it’s time for BiN to
grow and the co-founders need to figure out the way forward.

© Vivek Krishnaswamy, 2022

All rights reserved. This work was especially prepared for the National Mediation Competition 2022, organized
and hosted by the Moot Court Bench, Sri Lanka. Permission has been granted to the Moot Court Bench to
reproduce it. The work may not be used for any other purpose. No part of this work may be reproduced or
copied in any form or by any means, or translated, without the prior permission in writing of the author or the
Moot Court Bench.
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