Opinion ID: 852688
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mediation as Prerequisite to Filing Post-Judgment Requests

Text: The Court of Appeals viewed the trial court's prospective mediation order as suggesting that the parties are prohibited from filing any matters in the trial court prior to engaging in mediation. Fuchs, 836 N.E.2d at 1059. The pertinent actual language in the judgment was: The parties are not to return to court for adjudication of any dispute without first submitting the same to mediation. Appellant's App'x at 33. If the phrase return to court for adjudication is construed to mean final adjudication, the requirement is clearly appropriate, as discussed above. But, if understood to require mediation of any post-judgment dispute as a prerequisite to filing a request for post-judgment proceedings, the nature of the restraint imposed by the order would be somewhat altered. We observe that courts are authorized to refer cases to mediation only after the expiration of fifteen days after the period allowed for peremptory change of judge under Trial Rule 76(B). A.D.R. 2.2. And mediation of parenting time issues is mandated only [i]f court action is initiated. Parenting Time Guidelines § I(E)(2). There may be cases in which it would be advisable for parties to submit their dispute to mediation before commencing an action in court, [3] but there is no authority for courts to impose any such requirement as a prerequisite for the initial filing of a new action. A judicial requirement for mediation as a precondition to a party filing requests for court action after the initial commencement of a case, however, does not run afoul of our rules, so long as it complies with the timing requirements in A.D.R. 2.2 and contemplates the right of any party to file a written objection, with the court ruling thereon after consideration of the willingness of the parties to mutually resolve their dispute, the ability of the parties to participate in the mediation process, the need for discovery and the extent to which it has been conducted, and any other factors which affect the potential for fair resolution of the dispute through the mediation process. A.D.R. 2.2. Such an order does not impair a party's right to commence a case in court. Even in the absence of any objection, a trial court ordering such prerequisite mediation will have had an opportunity to first ascertain the nature of the dispute and the circumstances of the parties before determining the probable wisdom and value of such an order. We conclude that a trial court may, in the exercise of sound discretion in discrete cases, order mediation as a prerequisite to the filing of requests for future proceedings therein.