NUMBER 13-15-00149-CV

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

____________________________________________________

AKIKO N. SOUZA, Appellant,

v.

LAURA JORDAN AND WILLIAM JORDAN, Appellees.

____________________________________________________

On appeal from the 131st District Court

of Bexar County, Texas.

____________________________________________________

ORDER REFERRING CASE TO MEDIATION

The Court has determined that this case should be referred to mediation prior to 

briefing. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§154.001-.073 (Vernon 2005). Accordingly, it 

is ORDERED that this case be mediated under the following terms and conditions:

1. The parties must promptly agree upon a mediator and, within seven days

of this Order, notify the Court in writing of the name and address of the 

mediator selected. If the parties are unable to agree upon a mediator, they 

must so notify the Court within the seven day period and the Court will 

appoint a mediator.
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2. All parties must confer with their mediator within seven days of the date 

of this Order, or in the case of a court appointed mediator, within seven days

of the appointment of the mediator, to establish a date and place for the 

mediation. The parties shall agree on a date for the mediation that is 

consistent with the mediator’s schedule and is no later than six weeks after 

the date of this Order. In the event the parties cannot agree on a date, the 

mediator shall select and set a date. The mediator shall notify the Court of 

the date selected for the mediation.

3. In the discretion of the mediator, each party may be required to provide a 

confidential memorandum and/or information sheet setting forth the issues of 

the case and their positions on these issues. Additionally, upon request of 

the mediator, the parties shall produce all information the mediator deems 

necessary to understand the issues of the case. The memorandum and/or 

information sheet and other information produced to the mediator will not be 

made a part of the file in this case and will be destroyed by the mediator at 

the conclusion of the mediation proceeding.

4. All parties to this matter or their authorized representatives, accompanied 

by their counsel, must appear and attend the mediation proceeding. 

5. Mediation is a mandatory, non-binding settlement conference conducted 

with the assistance of a mediator. The mediation proceeding will be 

confidential within the meaning of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies 

Code sections 154.053 and 154.073. See TEX. CIV.PRAC.& REM. CODE ANN. 

§§154.053-.073 (West 2011).

6. Unless otherwise agreed, the mediation proceeding will not be recorded.

7. The mediator will negotiate a reasonable fee with the parties. The 

mediator’s fee will be borne equally by the parties unless otherwise agreed 

by the parties, and will be paid directly to the mediator. If the parties do not 

agree upon the fee requested by the mediator, the Court will set a 

reasonable fee, which shall be taxed as costs. TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE 

ANN. §154.054 (West 2011).

8. Within two days after the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator shall 

certify to this Court as follows: (a) whether the parties appeared as ordered, 

(b) whether the case settled, and (c) whether the mediation fees were paid in 

accordance with the Court’s order or as otherwise agreed by the parties.

9. If mediation fully resolves the issues in this case, the parties must file a 

joint or agreed motion seeking dispositive relief, within seven days of the 
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conclusion of the mediation. If the parties need more time to effectuate the 

terms of the settlement agreement, they must within seven days of the 

conclusion of mediation, file a joint or agreed motion for an extension of time 

to file their disposition motion. 

It is FURTHER ORDERED that this appeal will be stayed until the completion of the 

mediation.

WITNESS the Honorable Rogelio Valdez, Chief Justice of the Court of Appeals, 13th

Court of Appeals District, at Corpus Christi - Edinburg, Texas.

GIVEN UNDER MY HAND AND SEAL OF SAID COURT, at my office this 27th day 

of April, 2015.

DORIAN E. RAMIREZ, CLERK

Thirteenth Court of Appeals