New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 22 - JUDICIARY › Subtitle A - JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION › Chapter I - Standards and Administrative Policies › Subchapter C - Rules Of The Chief Administrator Of The Courts › Part 160 - Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Trail Courts › Section 160.2 - Court Referral of Civil Disputes to ADR

Current through Register Vol.
					 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
(1) As
					 provided in this Part, a state-funded court of the UCS shall refer each civil
					 dispute pending before it to an appropriate ADR process at the earliest
					 practicable time unless: (i) such referral is prohibited under statute, local
					 rule of court, or administrative order of the Chief Administrator of the Courts
					 or the Chief Administrator's designee, (ii) the court determines that the
					 parties cannot participate effectively in an ADR process or that, for any other
					 reason, referral to such a process will not serve the interests of justice,
					 (iii) a party to the dispute objects to and opts out from such referral in
					 accordance with local rule of court or administrative order of the Chief
					 Administrator or designee (iv) the court determines, in consultation with the
					 local Administrative Judge, that insufficient ADR resources, including but not
					 limited to, mediators and neutral evaluators, are currently available, or (v)
					 there are allegations of domestic violence as defined by the New York State
					 Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence or of child abuse or neglect.
(2) At the earliest practicable
					 time, a court shall inform the parties to such dispute regarding the available
					 ADR processes. To the extent possible, the court shall provide the parties, or
					 their counsel, with access to written or electronic materials describing: (i)
					 how ADR is used to resolve a dispute (including how it may provide
					 opportunities for exchanges of information to facilitate accelerated resolution
					 of disputes), (ii) the associated costs of ADR, if any, and (iii) how a party
					 can opt out of a referral to ADR pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision.
(3) Where a court refers a dispute
					 to an ADR process under this Part, the court shall refer such dispute to
					 mediation unless there are compelling reasons to select another ADR process. In
					 determining whether such compelling reasons exist, the court shall consider all
					 relevant factors, including but not limited to: (i) any preference for a
					 particular ADR process expressed by the parties to the dispute, (ii) the
					 specific issues raised by the dispute, (iii) whether a party or parties to the
					 dispute are unrepresented; and (iv) the availability of ADR processes other
					 than mediation.
(4) Where the
					 parties in a family court or matrimonial matter are referred to mediation under
					 this Part, the parties shall be screened using a standardized mediation
					 screening tool developed by the Statewide ADR Office of the UCS, to determine
					 whether it is appropriate for mediation to proceed. This screening is in
					 addition to any statutory registry checks under section
					 240
					 (1)(a) of the Domestic Relations Law and
					 section
					 651
					 (e) of the Family Court Act. Where mediation
					 is determined to be inappropriate, the matter shall be returned to the
					 referring court.
(5) Referrals in
					 accordance with this section may be to a neutral third party chosen by the
					 parties to the dispute or, as appropriate, to a roster mediator, to a roster
					 neutral evaluator, to mediation-trained court staff, or to a community dispute
					 resolution center. Where the parties agree upon the choice of a neutral third
					 party, they shall provide notice thereof to the court's ADR administrative
					 personnel, as prescribed by the court.
(6) Notwithstanding the foregoing, a court
					 may at any time remove a dispute from an ADR process to which it already has
					 been referred where: (i) the court determines that such referral does not serve
					 the interests of justice; or (ii) a party to the dispute objects to and opts
					 out from such referral in accordance with local rule of court or administrative
					 order of the Chief Administrator of the Courts or the Chief Administrator's
					 designee.