The mediator is permitted to meet privately with both sides, and all statements made by the participants are confidential. The mediator is paid by the parties at a court-set fee or at market rates approved by the court. Number of cases. No cases were referred to mediation between February 1994, when the program was adopted, and September 1994. Case selection Eligibility of cases.
Any civil case is eligible for referral to mediation.
No case types are excluded or assumed inappropriate. The court may on the request of all parties or on its own motion order any action or portion thereof to mediation. Opt-out or removal. A party may move within ten days of the court's order referring an action or portion thereof to mediation to dispense with or defer the mediation conference. The court may grant the motion only for good cause shown.