Image courtesy of Elkus Manfredi

The long-running legal dispute between Suffolk Construction CEO John Fish and Boston-based developer Weiner Ventures over the failed 1000 Boylston development is headed to mediation.

The two sides have been engaged in a four-year legal battle in Suffolk Superior Court, attempting to assess blame in the failure of the luxury condominium tower in Boston’s Back Bay. The two sides were Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s choice to develop the air rights parcel near the corner of Massachusetts Avenue, and spent a combined $83 million on predevelopment before the project was canceled by MassDOT in 2019, according to legal filings.

In a joint motion submitted Oct. 27, legal counsel for the two sides agreed that retired Superior Court Judge Margaret Hinkle will mediate the case in a session scheduled for Dec. 5.

In August, attorneys told a Suffolk Superior Court judge that a settlement was unlikely.

The 440,000-square-foot condo tower was approved by the Boston Planning & Development Agency in 2018, but Weiner Ventures and its partner Fish struggled to complete the financing in 2019 as a state-imposed deadline to begin construction approached.

Fish sued Weiner Ventures in 2019 and blamed the developer for delays on completion of final designs that caused estimated project costs to rise $35 million. Weiner Ventures said Fish failed to deliver promised state permits needed to begin construction.

The case had been scheduled to go to trial in 2024.