Superior Court, ADR Rules

RULES OF THE SUPERIOR COURTS OF

THE CONASAUGA JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF GEORGIA

FOR

ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

RULE 1. REFERRAL TO ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ("ADR")

(a) Any contested civil or domestic relations case which does not involve issues of serious domestic violence (defined as the systematic use of force or threat of force, use of a weapon or serious injury) may be referred to ADR by the presiding judge. Upon notification of a judge’s intention to refer a domestic relations case, ADR Program staff will conduct a careful review of the pleadings for allegations of serious domestic violence, including the presence of a temporary protective order (TPO). As well, information sent by the program to the attorneys or parties will advise them to inform the program of any concerns they might have regarding this matter. Cases identified as involving such issues shall be returned to the court as being inappropriate for ADR referral.

If allegations of serious domestic violence should arise in the context of an ADR session, a neutral who has not had special training in handling cases involving such issues should conclude the session and send the case back to the court. In concluding the session, the neutral should take precautions to guard the safety of the parties and the neutral.

(b) Any party or attorney may make a request to the Court to have their case referred to ADR. A Court “ORDER” referring the case to ADR shall be executed by the referring Judge. The original Order shall be filed in the case file in the office of the Clerk of the Court making the referral.

(1) Appeals from rulings of administrative agencies;

(2) In Rem Condemnations;

(3) Habeas Corpus and extraordinary writs;

(4) Bond Validations;

(5) Declaratory Judgements;

(6) URESA actions

RULE 2. TIMING OF ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCESSES

(a) Cases referred to ADR will be assigned to a neutral for services if notice of settlement or objections to the referral are not received in the ADR Program Director’s office within seven (7) calendar days of the date the referral order is filed with the Clerk of Court. The ADR Program Director’s office shall provide timely notice of the case referral to the parties and/or attorneys.

(b) Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, the initial ADR session shall be held within thirty (30) calendar days after the parties and/or attorneys are notified of the case referral to ADR.

RULE 3. EXEMPTION FROM ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

A party may, within seven (7) calendar days of the date the referral order is filed with the Clerk of Court, request that the Court dispense with ADR if:

(a) The issue to be considered has previously been through the ADR process;

At the completion of time frames as required in RULES 2(a) and 3, a neutral shall be assigned by the ADR Program Director’s office from a list of registered neutrals maintained there. These case assignments shall be made in a timely and equitable manner.

After a case is filed, parties are free to choose their own neutral and negotiate a fee with that neutral before a case is ordered to an ADR process; however, the confidentiality and immunity protections of the Georgia Supreme Court ADR Rules do not apply in the absence of a court order referring the case to ADR. Once a case is ordered to ADR, parties are still allowed to choose their own neutral, but if the Program is paying fees that neutral must agree in advance to accept the Program’s current hourly rate. When the parties are paying, they may negotiate any acceptable fee rate with the neutral. The chosen neutral must as well be registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution in the appropriate category.

The qualifications and training for a neutral shall not be less than the minimum qualifications set out in the Georgia Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules. The neutrals must be registered with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

(a) All neutrals shall be compensated at the same rate as established by the Joint Board of Trustees of the Fund For The Administration of ADR Programs. Rate information shall be provided to the parties and/or attorneys concurrent with the neutral's assignment to the case.

(b) The parties in certain general civil cases shall be responsible for the payment of ADR costs accruing from the date of assignment to the neutral. Such cases shall include those in which the parties are each commercial business concerns or those in which all individual parties have insurance coverage applicable to the issues in dispute. In these cases payment of costs shall be equally divided between the parties unless otherwise ordered by the presiding Judge. All other civil and domestic cases referred for ADR will have ADR costs paid from the Joint ADR Fund. Parties and/or attorneys shall be notified by the ADR Program Director's office of payment obligations concurrent with the neutral's assignment to the case.

(c) If required to share in payment of ADR costs, the parties shall make arrangements with the neutral for such payment at or before the first ADR session.

(d) The referring judge may choose to not enter a final order in a case until such payments have been fully made or other approved payment arrangements are in place.

Neutrals acting in the ADR process are entitled to immunity as provided for in the Georgia Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules.

Confidentiality for the ADR process is governed by the Georgia Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules.

The presence of parties at all ADR sessions is required and their attorneys are invited to attend. The requirement that a party appear at an ADR session is satisfied if the following persons are present and listen to the opening statements of the neutral:

(2) The party's representative, if that representative has full authority to settle without further consultation, and a full understanding of the dispute and full knowledge of the facts or

(3) The party or the party's representative as described in (2) above and a representative of any entity other than the party, if the decision to settle depends upon that entity.

The neutral shall promptly notify the ADR Program Director's office of a party or representative's failure to appear at an ADR session. That office shall then notify the presiding Judge.

If the requirements of RULE 9 are not satisfied, the offending party may, in the discretion of the presiding Judge, be subject to the sanctions of contempt, the imposition of the costs and fees of the neutral; attorney fees; expenses and lost wages of the other party; and such other sums as the interest of justice may require.

Communication outside of the ADR session between the parties or attorneys and the neutral shall be only for the purposes of requesting needed data to assist the neutral (with copies of all requests and responses provided to all parties) and verification of appointment times and locations. In ADR mediation, the neutral may meet and consult privately with any party or any attorney during the mediation session.

Communication between the ADR Program Director's office and the Court, and between neutrals and the Court, are governed by the Georgia Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules. There shall be no communication between the Court and the parties during the ADR process.

(a) ADR shall be completed within 90 days of the first ADR session. Requests for extensions of the ADR process beyond this limit shall be made to the presiding Judge.

(b) The length of an ADR session shall be at the discretion of the neutral in consultation with the parties and/or attorneys.

(c) The neutral may continue the ADR session and set conditions for reconvening the continued session. The neutral shall promptly notify the ADR Program Director's office of such continuances.

(d) If an agreement is reached, a summary of that agreement shall be reduced to writing by the neutral and signed by the neutral and both parties. This summary shall be provided to the parties' attorneys. In cases where the plaintiff is represented by an attorney, that attorney shall prepare a settlement agreement or consent order in proper legal form. If only the defendant is represented by an attorney, that attorney shall prepare the appropriate documents. If both parties are not represented by an attorney, the neutral shall advise them to seek the assistance of an attorney in preparation of such documents. The settlement agreement or consent order shall then be presented to the presiding Judge within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of the written notice from the ADR Program Director’s office of the case being settled during mediation, for filing with the original case file in the office of the Clerk of the referring Court. If the case is not closed during this period the presiding judge may dismiss the complaint and any counterclaim(s) without prejudice.

(e) If partial agreement is reached a summary of any agreements shall be reduced to writing by the neutral and signed by the neutral and both parties. This summary shall be provided to the parties and/or their attorney(s).

(f) The neutral shall notify the ADR Program Director's office of the outcome of ADR sessions. That office shall then promptly notify the referring Judge as to the status of the case.

For purposes of conflicts, the ADR session shall be construed as being a non-jury proceeding pursuant to the Uniform Rules of Superior Courts. The parties and counsel may rely upon said Rules in resolving and scheduling conflicts. The party and or attorney who is requesting that a ADR session be rescheduled must obtain consent therefore from the neutral. The neutral shall notify the ADR Program Director’s office of any rescheduling.

The ADR Program Director shall be the Circuit Court Administrator. Said Director shall be responsible for all administrative matters pertaining to the ADR program. These responsibilities include, but shall not be limited to:

(e) Evaluating procedures on an on-going basis and recommending changes as needed.

(f) Performing such other duties as may be directed by the Superior Court Judges.

The Superior Court Judges of the Conasauga Judicial Circuit shall retain ultimate authority over the ADR program.