### IN THE TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10
- 16
- 00360
- CV HOWARD P. LE JEUNE , Appellant v. SCARLETT R. ROBBINS AND JAMES B. ROBBINS , Appellee s

From the 13th District Court Navarro County, Texas Trial Court No. D16

- 24649
- CV

REFERRAL TO MEDIATIO N ORDER
The Legislature has provided for the resolution of disputes through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures. See T EX

. C IV

. P RAC

. & R EM

. C ODE A NN

. §§ 154.001

- 154.073. The policy behind ADR is stated in the statute: “It is the policy of this state to encourage the peacea ble resolution of disputes . . . and the early settlement of pending litigation through voluntary settlement procedures.” Id . § 154.002. Mediation is a form of ADR. Mediation is a mandatory but non

- binding settlement conference, conducted with the assistance of a mediator. Mediation is private, confidential, and privileged.Le Jeune v. Robbins Page 2

We find that this appeal is appropriate for mediation. See id. § 154.021(a). The parties are ordered to confer and attempt to agree upon a mediator. Wit hin fourteen days after the date of this O rder, Appellant is ordered to file a notice with the Clerk of this Court that either identifies the agreed

- upon mediator or states that the parties are unable to agree upon a mediator. If the notice states that the parties are unable to agree upon a mediator, this Court wi ll assign a mediator. Mediation must occur within sixty days after the date the above

- referenced notice agreeing to a mediator is filed or, if no mediator is agreed upon, within sixty days after the date of the order assigning a mediator.
No less than seven calendar days before the first scheduled mediation session, each party must provide the mediator and all other parties with an information sheet setting forth the party’s positions about the issues that need to be resolved. At or before
the first se ssion, all parties must produce all information necessary for the mediator to understand the issues presented. The mediator may require any party to supplement th e information required by this O rder. Named parties must be present during the entire media tion process, and each party that is not a natural person must be represented by a n employee, officer, agent , or representative with authority to bind the party to settlement. Immediately after mediation, the mediator must advise this Court, in writing, only that the case did or did not settle and the amount of the mediator’s fee paid by each party. The mediator’s fee will be taxed as costs. Unless the mediator agrees to mediate withoutLe Jeune v. Robbins Page 3

fee, the mediator must negotiate a reasonable fee with the parties, and the parties must each pay one - half of the agreed

- upon fee directly to the mediator. Failure or refusal to attend the mediation as scheduled may result in the imposition of sanctions, as permitted by law. Any objection to this O rder must be filed with this Court and served upon all parties within t en days after the date of this O rder, or it is waived.
We r efer this appeal to mediation. The appeal and all appellate deadlines are suspended as of the date of this O rder. The suspension of the appe al is automatically lifted when the mediator’s report to the
Court is received . If the matter is not resolved at mediation, any deadline that began to run and had not expired by the date of this O rder will begin anew as of the date the mediator’s report t o the Court is received . Any document filed by a party after the date
of this O rder and before the filing of the mediator’s report will be deemed filed on the same day, but after the mediator’s report is received.

PER CURIAM Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Davis , and Justice Neill Order issued and filed January 28, 2020 RWR