Mediation Services
Introduction
I have served as a certified North Carolina Superior Court mediator for over twenty-two years since retirement from the trial bench and have mediated well over fifteen hundred cases in state and federal court, for The American Arbitration Association, Financial Industry Regulatory Association, and for private parties. If you have questions, please email them. Case Experience – Click here for Case Experience.
Mediation
Mediation rules can be located at www.nccourts.org/Courts/CRS/Councils/DRC/MSC/Rules.asp.
Administrative Office of the Courts Forms 811 – 816, etc. are free sources of required forms.
Advisory Opinions regarding Mediator conduct are also found at the www.nccourts.org website.
About Mediation
Pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. §7A-38.1 and the North Carolina Supreme Court’s Rules Implementing Mediated Settlement Conferences (MSC Rules), referral to mediated settlement is mandatory for civil actions pending in superior court (unless the parties agree to participate in one of the other options available to them through the dispute resolution menu). The only cases excluded from mandatory referral are actions in which a party is seeking the issuance of an extraordinary writ or is appealing the revocation of a motor vehicle operator’s license.
The Mediated Settlement Conference Program is designed as a “party pay” program in that the parties, and not the court or the taxpayers, compensate the mediator who conducts the mediated settlement conference. (However, in situations where the court finds that a party is indigent, i.e., without funds to pay, the mediator must waive his/her fee.) Since they are paying the mediator’s fee, parties are given an opportunity to select their mediator. Parties ordered to participate in mediated settlement must choose a mediator certified by the Dispute Resolution Commission. If the parties cannot agree on who shall conduct their conference or take no action to select a mediator, the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge will appoint a certified mediator to conduct the conference. The mediator is responsible for scheduling the conference and for finding a location where it can take place.
The mediator serves as a facilitator only, focusing the parties’ discussions and brainstorming with them about how they might settle their dispute. A mediator cannot and should not try to force parties to settle. Following a successful mediation, the agreement reached will be reduced to writing and signed and the mediator will notify the court that the case has settled. If the case does not settle in mediation, the mediator will report an impasse to the court and the dispute will proceed to trial. (The mediator will not discuss what occurred at mediation, including offers or counter-offers, with the judge or jury.) Many times, cases which impasse at mediation go on to settle in the coming weeks as parties and their attorneys continue the discussion begun in mediation.
20 Question Mediation Preparation Spreadsheet for Legal Assistants
To increase the chances of a mediation being successful, meaningful for the client, and useful for counsel, certain basic information needs to be assembled and prepared for presentation to the Mediator. This checklist provides guidance.
Contact Information
Name of case: __________________________________________________________________
Case number: ___________________ Opposing Counsel: _______________________________
Firm Address: __________________________________________________________________
Email:______________________________________Tel/Cell:____________________________
Mediation Deadline: _________________________ Trial Date:__________________________
Mediator: ____________________Tel/Cell/email:_____________________________________
Venue for the mediation: _________________________________________________________
- ___Have you set the mediation hearing date and location before the deadline?
- ___If a lawsuit has already been filed, email a copy of the Complaint and Answer to the Mediator 2 days before the mediation.
- ___For pre-litigation mediations, please send a two-paragraph email describing the the nature of the case 2 days before the mediation to the Mediator and opposing counsel.
- ___Have you scheduled a conference/call with the client and firm attorney pre-mediation?
- ___Has the mediation process been explained to the client?
- ___Have the parties exchanged any discovery?
- ___Is there outstanding, critical discovery required before mediation?
- ___Have you notified opposing counsel to that effect?
- ___Have the parties filed dispositive motions?
- ___Have documents/ spreadsheets which show damages calculations been prepared?
- ___Have supporting documents supporting damages calculations been assembled?
- ___What documents show the last exchange of demands and responses to the demand?
- ___Identify the people attending the mediation 2 days before mediation .
- ___Have you prepared a list of issues associated with your claims/counterclaims?
- ___Is the case complex such that a pre-mediation brief would be helpful?
- ___Have you discussed this with opposing counsel?
- ___Does your client want to make a statement during the joint mediation session?
- ___Is there anything counsel wants to discuss with the Mediator before the hearing?
- ___Is there anything you wish the Mediator to explain to your client for his/her information.
- ___Is there a need to file a Request for Extension of the mediation date?
Mediator Neutrality and Confidentiality
A mediator serves as a neutral party to a confidential process. The mediator is bound to the confidences of the parties and is not involved in any fashion with the controversy beyond that of seeking to help resolve it.
Mediation Rates ( divided equally among parties )
Click here for Current Rates.
Subject Matter Categories — Case Experience
Click here for Case Experience.
Mediation Forms
In the event a mediated case settles, a settlement agreement will be prepared and signed off on by the parties. This agreement is enforceable in court should its terms not be followed. A suggested template form is provided.
Mediated Settlement Agreement- Short Form (pdf)
Mediated Settlement Agreement- Long Form (pdf)
Mediation Program Rules
The Rules Implementing Statewide Mediated Settlement Conferences in Superior Court Civil Actions (MSC Rules) were first adopted by the Supreme Court in 1991, pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-38.1. The Rules provide a framework for expediting settlement of superior court civil actions. The MSC Rules were last revised on October 6, 2011, with the revisions effective January 1, 2012.
To view or to print the rules in their entirety, click below:
All MSC Rules : http://www.nccourts.org/Courts/CRS/Councils/DRC/MSC/Rules.asp
Disclaimer: While every effort was made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the rules available on the DRC/NC Courts website, the Dispute Resolution Commission/Administrative Office of the Courts is not responsible for any errors or omissions which may occur in these rules. See the General Statues of North Carolina, Rules volume.
To view or to print individual rules, select by clicking below:
- Rule 1. Initiating Settlement Events
- Rule 2. Designation of Mediator
- Rule 3. The Mediated Settlement Conference
- Rule 4. Duties of Parties, Attorneys and Other Participants in Mediated Settlement Conferences
- Rule 5. Sanctions for Failure to Attend Mediated Settlement Conferences
- Rule 6. Authority and Duties of Mediators
- Rule 7. Compensation of the Mediator
- Rule 8. Mediator Certification and Decertification
- Rule 9. Certification of Mediation Training Programs
- Rule 10. Other Settlement Procedures
- Rule 11. Rules for Neutral Evaluation
- Rule 12. Rules for Arbitration
- Rule 13. Rules for Summary Trials
- Rule 14. Local Rule Making
- Rule 15. Definitions
- Rule 16. Time Limits
Mediated Settlement Program Forms (Superior Court)
- AOC-CV-811 Order For Mediated Settlement Conference In Superior Court And Trial Calendar Notice (Rev. 2/10)
- AOC-CV-812 Designation Of Mediator in Superior Court Civil Action (Rev. 2/10)
- AOC-CV-813 Report Of Mediator In Superior Court Civil Action (Rev. 12/09)
- AOC-CV-814 Petition And Order For Relief From Obligation To Pay Mediator’s Fee (Rev. 3/99)
- AOC-CV-815 Motion And Order For Show Cause Hearing (Rev. 12/06)
- AOC-CV-816 Order Of Contempt For Non-Payment Of Mediator’s Fees (New 9/02)
- AOC-CV-836 Consent Order For Substitution Of Mediator (Rev. 12/09)
- AOC-DRC-01 Application for Certification to Conduct Superior Court Mediations (Rev.3/10)
- AOC-DRC-05 Dispute Resolution Commission Complaint (Rev. 4/08)
- AOC-DRC-06 Continuing Mediator Education Report Form (Rev. 2/05)
- AOC-DRC-07 Certificate Of Observation (Mediated Settlement Conference Program (Rev. 6/08) (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher; may require updated print driver)
- AOC-DRC-09 Mediator Evaluation Form (Rev. 8/07)
NC State Bar Council Opinions