Court Opinion

ID: 4530629
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2020-05-01 06:14:09.739929+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:24:53.458526
License: Public Domain

Order issued April 30, 2020

                                    In The

                              Court of Appeals
                                   For The

                         First District of Texas
                           ————————————
                              NO. 01-19-00481-CV
                          ———————————
               SAMANTHA TIANNE ERICKSON, Appellant
                                      V.
                   LEE ROBERT ERICKSON, Appellee

                   On Appeal from the 308th District Court
                            Harris County, Texas
                      Trial Court Case No. 2013-10540

                        MEMORANDUM ORDER
                     OF REFERRAL TO MEDIATION

      The Court has determined that it is appropriate to refer this appeal for

resolution by mediation. Mediation affords the parties an opportunity to resolve
these family-law issues to ensure the best interests of their child while taking into

account their family needs and priorities.

      Unsupervised visitation has been in place for over nine months. While the

Court is limited to a record that is frozen in time as of the date of judgment, the

parties are well aware of how the parties have interacted with each other and the

child in the past nine months and how those interactions and other events have

affected their child.

      Having concluded that this appeal is suitable for mediation, the Court orders

that the parties be referred to mediation under the following procedures and

deadlines.

      1. The parties may object to mediation. An objection, if any, must be filed

          with the Clerk of this Court no later than 3:00 pm on May 14, 2020.

      2. Absent objection, the parties shall choose a mediator who is board

          certified in family law.

      3. No later than 3:00 pm on May 28, 2020, the parties shall file with the

          Clerk of this Court a completed “Parties’ Notification to Court of

          Mediator.” This document can be downloaded from the forms page of the

          Court’s website at http://www.txcourts.gov/1stcoa. It also is attached to

          this order.
      4. The parties shall hold mediation at a time (or times) agreeable to the

         parties and the mediator selected that permits the parties and the mediator

         to meet the reporting deadline below.

      5. Mediation may be by any means agreed to by the parties and mediator to

         adhere to social-distancing guidelines, including Zoom meetings online,

         so long as the means chosen permit Samantha Erickson and Lee Erickson

         to actively participate in the mediation with their counsel.

      6. No later than 3:00 pm on June 30, 2020, the parties and the mediator

         shall advise the Clerk of this Court in writing whether the parties did or

         did not settle the underlying dispute.

      The mediator shall encourage and assist the parties in reaching a settlement

of their dispute but may not compel or coerce the parties to enter into a settlement

agreement. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 154.053(a). All communications

relating to the mediation are confidential and not subject to disclosure, except as

set forth by law. See id. § 154.073. The Clerk of this Court, however, will file this

order and the completed “Parties’ Notification to Court of Mediator” with the other

documents filed in this appeal that are available for public inspection. Unless

expressly authorized by the disclosing party, the mediator may not disclose to

either party information given in confidence by the other and shall at all times
maintain confidentiality with respect to communications relating to the subject

matter of the dispute. See id. § 154.053(b). Unless the parties agree otherwise, all

matters, including the conduct and demeanor of the parties and their counsel during

the settlement process, are confidential and may never be disclosed to anyone,

including this Court. See id. § 154.053(c).

                                              Sarah Beth Landau
                                              Justice

Panel consists of Justices Lloyd, Landau, and Countiss.
                               In The

                        Court of Appeals
                               For The

                    First District of Texas
                      ————————————
                        NO. 01-19-00481-CV
                     ———————————
          SAMANTHA TIANNE ERICKSON, Appellant
                                  V.
              LEE ROBERT ERICKSON, Appellee

             On Appeal from the 308th District Court
                      Harris County, Texas
                Trial Court Case No. 2013-10540

   PARTIES’ NOTIFICATION TO COURT OF MEDIATOR

The parties have agreed that the following person will mediate this cause:

Mediator’s name: ______________________________________

State Bar of Texas identification number: ____________________

Mailing address: _______________________________________
                         _______________________________________

                         _______________________________________

       Telephone number: ____________________________________

       Fax number: __________________________________________

       E-mail address: ________________________________________

_________________________________
_________________________________
Attorney’s name:
State Bar of Texas identification number:
Mailing address:
Telephone number:
Fax number:
E-mail address:
Counsel for:

_________________________________
Attorney’s name:
State Bar of Texas identification number:
Mailing address:
Telephone number:
Fax number:
E-mail address:
Counsel for: