North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 11 - INSURANCE › Chapter 23 - INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION › Subchapter G - NORTH CAROLINA INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION RULES FOR MEDIATED SETTLEMENT AND NEUTRAL EVALUATION CONFERENCES › Section .0100 - MEDIATION AND SETTLEMENT › Section 23G .0101 - ORDER FOR MEDIATED SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a)
				  Mediation Upon Agreement of the Parties. If the parties to a workers'
				  compensation claim or state tort claim agree to mediate the claim, the parties
				  may schedule and proceed with mediation on their own, or the parties may submit
				  a request for a mediation order pursuant to Paragraph (d) of this Rule. No
				  order from the Commission is necessary if the parties mutually agree to mediate
				  the claim, but the mediator shall file a report of mediation with the
				  Commission as required by Paragraph (g) of Rule .0106 of this Subchapter. If
				  the parties proceed with mediation in the absence of an order from the
				  Commission and the Commission thereafter enters a mediation order, the parties
				  shall notify the Commission that the parties have agreed upon the selection of
				  a mediator or, if the mediated settlement conference has been completed, that
				  the parties request to be excused from any further mediation obligations
				  pursuant to Paragraph (f) of this Rule.
(b) Referral Upon Receipt of a Form 33
				  Request that Claim be Assigned for Hearing. In any case in which the Commission
				  receives a Form 33 Request that Claim be Assigned for Hearing, the Commission
				  shall order the case to a mediated settlement conference unless doing so would
				  be contrary to the interests of justice.
(c) By Order of the Commission.
				  Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, the Commission's Dispute Resolution
				  Coordinator, and such other employees as the Commission Chair designates may,
				  by written order, require the parties and their representatives to attend a
				  mediated settlement conference concerning a dispute within the workers'
				  compensation and state tort claim jurisdiction of the Commission. Requests to
				  dispense with or defer a mediated settlement conference shall be addressed to
				  the Dispute Resolution Coordinator. Unless the context otherwise requires,
				  references to the "Commission" in the rules in this Subchapter shall mean the
				  Dispute Resolution Coordinator.
(d)
				  Mediation Upon Request of a Party. If a case is not otherwise ordered to a
				  mediated settlement conference, a party may move the Commission to order a
				  conference. The motion shall be served on non-moving parties and shall state
				  the reasons why the order should be entered. Responses may be filed in writing
				  with the Commission within 10 days after the date of the service of the motion.
				  Any motion for a mediation order shall be submitted on a form provided by the
				  Commission.
(e) Timing of the
				  Order. The order requiring mediation may be issued whenever it appears that the
				  parties have a dispute arising under the Workers' Compensation Act or the Tort
				  Claims Act.
(f) Motion to Dispense
				  with or Defer Mediated Settlement Conference. Mediation may be dispensed with
				  by the Commission in the interests of justice or judicial economy. As used in
				  this Rule, the term "dispensed with" means setting aside or rescinding the
				  mediation order(s) entered in the case, or excusing the parties from their
				  obligations under the applicable order(s) or the Rules in this Subchapter.
				  Mediation may not be dispensed with by the parties or the mediator unless the
				  parties have agreed, subject to Commission approval, on a full and complete
				  resolution of all disputed issues set forth in the request for hearing filed in
				  the case, and the parties have given notice of the settlement to the Dispute
				  Resolution Coordinator. Within 55 days of the filing of a Form 33 Request that
				  Claim be Assigned for Hearing, or otherwise within the deadline set forth in
				  the Commission's order entered pursuant to Paragraph (c) or Paragraph (d) of
				  this Rule, a party may move to dispense with or defer the mediated settlement
				  conference. The motion shall state the reasons the relief is sought and must be
				  received by the Dispute Resolution Coordinator within the applicable
				  deadline.
(g) Exemption from
				  Mediated Settlement Conference. The State shall not be compelled to participate
				  in a mediation or neutral evaluation procedure with a prison inmate.
(h) Motion to Authorize the Use of Neutral
				  Evaluation Procedures. The parties may move the Commission to authorize the use
				  of a neutral evaluation procedure contained in Rule .0109 of this Subchapter in
				  lieu of a mediated settlement conference. The motion shall be filed on a form
				  provided by the Commission within 55 days of the filing of a Form 33 Request
				  that Claim be Assigned for Hearing, or otherwise within the deadline set forth
				  in the Commission's order entered pursuant to Paragraph (c) or Paragraph (d) of
				  this Rule, and shall state:
(1) that all
				  parties consent to the motion;
(2)
				  that the neutral evaluator and the parties have agreed upon the selection and
				  all terms of compensation of the neutral selected; and
(3) the name, address, and telephone number
				  of the neutral evaluator selected by the parties.