Order issued November 25, 2020

In The

Court of Appeals 

For The

First District of Texas 

NO. 01-20-00762-CV

NORMAN J. SILVERMAN, Appellant

V.

SONIC AUTOMOTIVE, JVP, LP D/B/A MOMENTUM PORSCHE AND 

PORSCHE CARS NORTH AMERICA, INC., Appellees

On Appeal from 269th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 2019-38107

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 

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.
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 

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/ Gordon Goodman 

Justice Gordon Goodman

Acting Individually