Source: https://mediatbankry.com/2018/08/07/im-not-comfortable-with-requiring-mediation-unfounded-squeamishness/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 00:36:54+00:00

Document:
Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998 (28 U.S.C. § 652(a)).
I don’t get it. What makes judges squeamish about requiring parties to mediate?
–Judges order parties and attorneys around all the time—on both substantive and procedural issues; so what’s different about mediation?
–Judges are comfortable with “suggesting” that parties mediate—and parties rarely defy such suggestions; so why not “suggest” more often?
Most judges who express discomfort are unaware, I suspect, of the statutory authorization noted above (in 28 U.S.C. § 652(a)) for a judge to “require the use of mediation,” even though that statute has been around since 1998.
The 1998 statutory authorization, in § 652(a), to “require the use of mediation” did not arise in a vacuum. It’s history reveals that Congress wasn’t kidding and explicitly intended what the authorization says. Here is a portion of that history.
This § 652(a) authorization satisfies the “when authorized by statute” condition of Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(c(2)(I).
Ave. # 1: “District Court” = Bankruptcy Court?
Each bankruptcy court is a “unit” of its district court (28 U.S.C. § 151). Accordingly, every reference to a “district court” in the foregoing statutes and rule should also apply to bankruptcy courts.
You’d think so. After all, in light of the Administrative Dispute Resolution Acts of 1990 and 1996, the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act of 1998 and similar federal statutes and rules, bankruptcy courts would be the only dispute resolution body in the entire federal government to have escaped their effect.
–I don’t think bankruptcy courts are quite that special.
Additionally, the Rule 16(c)(2)(I) language quoted above, as clarified by 28 U.S.C. § 652(a), explicitly authorizes bankruptcy court judges to require the participation of disputing parties in a mediation session. Here’s how.
So, a bankruptcy judge can apply Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(c)(2)(I) in adversary proceedings and, also, may direct that Fed.R.Civ.P. 16(c)(2)(I) shall apply at any stage of any contested matter. The bankruptcy judge can, thereby, require disputing parties to mediate.
Any federal judge, including bankruptcy judges, has every right and authority to require disputing parties to mediate—at any stage of any bankruptcy proceeding.
The sentiment is nothing more than a personal preference—sort of like saying, “I root for the Cubs over the White Sox.” That’s ok to say, but it’s a poor basis for decision in a bankruptcy case.
The quotes and articles are just amazing! Me, as a mediator, learns a lot about how to be a better mediator and most of all, about the court-ordered, rather than mandatory mediation.

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