Procedure No. 2, mediations conducted by the Court’s Mediation
Panel.
(a) CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT - Except as provided in
subsection (b) of this local rule, this Court, the mediator, all
counsel and parties, and any other persons attending the
mediation shall treat as “confidential information” the contents
of the written mediation statements, any documents prepared
for the purpose of, in the course of, or pursuant to the
mediation, anything that happened or was said relating to the
subject matter of the case in mediation, any position taken, and
any view of the merits of the case expressed by any participant
in connection with any mediation. “Confidential information”
shall not be:
(1) disclosed to anyone not involved in the litigation;
(2) disclosed to the assigned judges; or
(3) used for any purpose, including impeachment, in any
pending or future proceeding in this Court or any other
forum.
(b) LIMITED EXCEPTIONS TO CONFIDENTIALITY - This
rule does not prohibit:
(1) disclosures as may be stipulated by all parties and the
mediator;
(2) disclosures as may be stipulated by all parties, without
the consent of the mediator, for use in a subsequent
confidential ADR or settlement proceeding;
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(3) a report to or an inquiry by the ADR Judge regarding a
possible violation of policies and procedures governing
the ADR program;
(4) the mediator from discussing the mediation process with
the Court’s ADR staff, who shall maintain the
confidentiality of the process;
(5) any participant or the mediator from responding to an
appropriate request for information duly made by persons
authorized by the Court to monitor or evaluate the
Court’s ADR program;
(6) disclosures as are required by General Order, related
ADR forms, and as otherwise required by law; or
(7) in an action or proceeding to enforce a settlement, the
admission of a written settlement agreement or a
settlement placed on the record, reached as a result of
mediation.
(c) CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT - The mediator may ask
the parties and all persons attending the mediation to sign a
confidentiality agreement on a form provided by the Court and
available on the court website. The confidentiality provisions
of this section apply regardless of whether a confidentiality
agreement is signed.
(d) SCOPE - Nothing in this rule is intended to limit any applicable
privilege or rule of evidence designed to protect mediation
confidentiality, and any such broader protection shall control if
applicable.
