N.Y. JUD Law § 849-B — New York Code / Act JUD / Article 21-A / Section 849-B
Establishment and administration of centers
Status: in_force

§ 849-b. Establishment and administration of centers. * 1. There is\nhereby established the community dispute resolution center program, to\nbe administered and supervised under the direction of the chief\nadministrator of the courts, to provide funds pursuant to this article\nfor the establishment and continuance of dispute resolution centers on\nthe basis of need in neighborhoods.\n  * NB Effective until August 18, 2026\n  * 1. There is hereby established the community dispute resolution\ncenter program, to be administered and supervised under the direction of\nthe chief administrator of the courts, to provide funds pursuant to this\narticle for the establishment and continuance of dispute resolution\ncenters on the basis of need in neighborhoods, and to provide funds for\nthe establishment and implementation of a pilot program in accordance\nwith subdivision (b) of section four hundred twenty-five of the family\ncourt act.\n  * NB Effective August 18, 2026\n  2. Every center shall be operated by a grant recipient.\n  3. All centers shall be operated pursuant to contract with the chief\nadministrator and shall comply with all provisions of this article. The\nchief administrator shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate\nthe purposes of this article, including provisions for periodic\nmonitoring and evaluation of the program.\n  4. A center shall not be eligible for funds under this article unless:\n  (a) it complies with the provisions of this article and the applicable\nrules and regulations of the chief administrator;\n  (b) it provides neutral mediators who have received at least\ntwenty-five hours of training in conflict resolution techniques;\n  (c) it provides dispute resolution without cost to indigents and at\nnominal or no cost to other participants;\n  * (d) it provides that during or at the conclusion of the dispute\nresolution process there shall be a written agreement or decision\nsetting forth the settlement of the issues and future responsibilities\nof each party and that such agreement or decision shall be available to\na court which has adjourned a pending action pursuant to section 170.55\nof the criminal procedure law;\n  * NB Effective until August 18, 2026\n  * (d) it provides that during or at the conclusion of the dispute\nresolution process there shall be a written agreement or decision\nsetting forth the settlement of the issues and future responsibilities\nof each party and that such agreement or decision shall be available to\na court which has adjourned a pending action pursuant to section 170.55\nof the criminal procedure law or, in the case of written agreements\nreached pursuant to the pilot program established pursuant to\nsubdivision (b) of section four hundred twenty-five of the family court\nact, that such agreement shall be submitted to the family court for\napproval in accordance with such section;\n  * NB Effective August 18, 2026\n  (e) it does not make monetary awards except upon consent of the\nparties and such awards do not exceed the monetary jurisdiction of the\nsmall claims part of the justice court, except that where an action has\nbeen adjourned in contemplation of dismissal pursuant to section 215.10\nof the criminal procedure law, a monetary award not in excess of five\nthousand dollars may be made; and\n  (f) it does not accept for dispute resolution any defendant who is\nnamed in a filed felony complaint, superior court information, or\nindictment, charging: (i) a class A felony, or (ii) a violent felony\noffense as defined in section 70.02 of the penal law, or (iii) any drug\noffense as defined in article two hundred twenty of the penal law, or\n(iv) a felony upon the conviction of which defendant must be sentenced\nas a second felony offender, a second violent felony offender, or a\npersistent violent felony offender pursuant to sections 70.06, 70.04 and\n70.08 of the penal law, or a felony upon the conviction of which\ndefendant may be sentenced as a persistent felony offender pursuant to\nsection 70.10 of such law.\n  5. Parties must be provided in advance of the dispute resolution\nprocess with a written statement relating:\n  (a) their rights and obligations;\n  (b) the nature of the dispute;\n  (c) their right to call and examine witnesses;\n  (d) that a written decision with the reasons therefor will be\nrendered; and\n  (e) that the dispute resolution process will be final and binding upon\nthe parties.\n  6. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this article, all\nmemoranda, work products, or case files of a mediator are confidential\nand not subject to disclosure in any judicial or administrative\nproceeding. Any communication relating to the subject matter of the\nresolution made during the resolution process by any participant,\nmediator, or any other person present at the dispute resolution shall be\na confidential communication.\n