Order issued January 2, 2023

In The

Court of Appeals 

For The

First District of Texas 

NO. 01-22-00920-CV

IN THE ESTATE OF J. HUGH WHEATFALL, Appellant

V.

Appellee

On Appeal from County Court

Grimes County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 8866-A

MEMORANDUM ORDER

OF REFERRAL TO MEDIATION

The Court determines that it is appropriate to refer this appeal for resolution 

by mediation. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 154.021, 154.022(a), 

154.023 (Vernon 2011). Accordingly, the Court orders that this appeal be referred 

to mediation unless any party to the appeal files an objection with the Clerk of this 

Court within ten days after receiving this order. See id. § 154.022(b).
The parties shall choose a qualified mediator and agree on a reasonable fee 

for the mediator’s services. 1 See id. §§ 154.052, 154.054(a) (Vernon 2011). 

The Court sets the following deadlines:

• No later than 15 days from the date that this order is issued, the 

parties shall file with the Clerk of this Court a completed “Parties’ 

Notification to Court of Mediator.” This document can be 

downloaded from the forms page of the Court’s website at 

http://www.txcourts.gov/1stcoa.

• No later than 45 days from the date that this order is issued, the 

parties shall conduct the mediation.

• No later than two days from the conclusion of the mediation, 

the parties and the mediator shall advise the Clerk of this Court in 

writing whether the parties did or did not settle the underlying dispute.

All parties, or their representative with full settlement authority, shall attend 

the mediation with their counsel. The mediator shall encourage and assist the 

parties in reaching a settlement of their dispute, but may not compel or coerce the 

parties to enter into a settlement agreement. See id. § 154.053(a) (Vernon 2011). 

All communications relating to the mediation are confidential and not subject to 

disclosure, except as set forth by law. See id. § 154.073 (Vernon 2011). The Clerk 

of this Court, however, will file this order, any objection to this order, and the 

1 The Court does not recommend mediators. Mediation information is 

available from the Dispute Resolution Center of Harris County ((713) 755-

8274 and https://drc.harriscountytx.gov/), the Fort Bend Dispute Resolution 

Center ((281) 342-5000), the Alternate Dispute Resolution Section of the 

State Bar of Texas (http://www.texasadr.org/), and other groups. The parties 

are not required to use a mediator recommended or listed by these groups.
completed “Parties’ Notification to Court of Mediator” with the other documents 

filed in this appeal that are available for public inspection.

Unless expressly authorized by the disclosing party, the mediator may not 

disclose to either party information given in confidence by the other and shall at all 

times maintain confidentiality with respect to communications relating to the 

subject matter of the dispute. See id. § 154.053(b). Unless the parties agree 

otherwise, all matters, including the conduct and demeanor of the parties and their 

counsel during the settlement process, are confidential and may never be disclosed 

to anyone, including this Court. See id. § 154.053(c).

The Court will consider the agreed fee for the mediator’s services to be 

reasonable and tax that fee as a cost of the appeal unless the parties agree to 

another method of payment. See id. § 154.054.

/s/Julie Countiss 

Justice Julie Countiss

Acting Individually