A single lawyer's letter resolves the long-standing grudge between two parties.
— A Record of Attorney Wu Jinsong's Mediation of Longstanding Neighboring Rights Disputes Among Indigenous Residents in the Community Where His Firm Is Stationed
One day in July this year, Lawyer Wu Jinsong, assigned to Yangang Community in Yantian Subdistrict, was entrusted by Xiao X, a native resident of Xishanxia Village, to negotiate with Wang XX regarding a neighboring rights dispute. The background of the case is as follows:
Wang XX is from Hong Kong. The Xiao and Wang families are both neighbors and relatives, and they originally got along without any issues. Later, the Wang family raised the adjacent passageway by over 20 centimeters on their own, causing inconvenience for the Xiao family's passage and causing the Wang family's septic tank to back up, emitting a foul odor. The Xiao family repeatedly communicated with the Wang family, asking them to restore the passageway to its original state and repair the septic tank, but the Wang family, who often reside in Hong Kong and rarely stay on the mainland, turned a deaf ear to the Xiao family's requests. As a result, the Xiao and Wang families stopped interacting with each other. Having reached the end of their patience, the Xiao family entrusted a lawyer to resolve the dispute.
After Attorney Wu Jinsong conducted an on-site inspection and gathered relevant information, he sent a "Lawyer's Letter" to Wang XX, pointing out that the other party's actions had violated the provisions of Article 83 of the General Principles of Civil Law and Article 92 of the Property Law. The "Lawyer's Letter" advised: "As the neighboring party to the client's real estate, you should face the existing problems realistically and confront the facts of infringement. Within 15 days of receiving this letter, you should formulate a written solution and immediately restore the original state; otherwise, once the client files a lawsuit in court, you will not only spend money and valuable time, but also bear additional losses and seriously affect your credit, reputation, and even the convenience of entry and exit! Therefore, we sincerely urge you to think carefully and act prudently, take this matter seriously, and resolve it properly through negotiation (restoration and compensation)!" The "Lawyer's Letter" combined legal reasoning, logic, and emotion. After receiving it, Wang XX felt that he was in the wrong and realized that failing to resolve the issue would not only harm his own interests but also result in greater economic losses. Through the mediation of Attorney Wu and village officials, Wang XX agreed to rectify the situation and reached a consensus with Xiao X. The long-standing feud was resolved in one stroke, and the Xiao and Wang families, who were both relatives and neighbors, resumed their interactions.
Zhiming Office
August 12, 2010
