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 T EX

. C IV

. P RAC

. & R EM

. C ODE A NN

. §§ 154.021, 154.022(a),

154.023 (Vernon 20 11 ). Accordingly, th e 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 ag r ee on a reasonable fee

for the mediator’s services. 1 See id. §§ 154.052, 154.054(a) (Vernon 20 11 ).

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 C o urt 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 d ate 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 t he 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 20 11 ).

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

disclosure, except as set forth by law. See id. § 154.073 (Vernon 20 11 ). T h e 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

ar e 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 aut h orized 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 i d

. § 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. § 15 4 .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