Melissa Benner, as Administrator of the Estate of Ruth Marie Warren v. Krystal S. Armstrong and Jeffery Lee Armstrong ( 2020 )

IN THE
TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-19-00279-CV
MELISSA BENNER,
AS ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE
OF RUTH MARIE WARREN,
Appellants
v.
KRYSTAL S. ARMSTRONG
AND JEFFERY LEE ARMSTRONG,
Appellees
From the 414th District Court
McLennan County, Texas
Trial Court No. 2012-3621-5
ORDEROF REFERRAL TO MEDIATION
The Legislature has provided for the resolution of disputes through alternative
dispute resolution (ADR) procedures. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE ANN. §§ 154.001-
154.073 (West 2011). The policy behind ADR is stated in the statute: “It is the policy of
this state to encourage the peaceable resolution of disputes … and the early settlement
of pending litigation through voluntary settlement procedures.” Id. § 154.002.
Mediation is a form of ADR. Mediation is a mandatory but non-binding settlement
conference, conducted with the assistance of a mediator. Mediation is private,
confidential, and privileged.
We find that this appeal is appropriate for mediation. See id. § 154.021(a). The
parties are ordered to confer and attempt to agree upon a mediator. Accordingly, we
refer this appeal to mediation.
Within twenty-eight days after the date of this Order, Justin Anderson is ordered to
file a notice with the Clerk of this Court which either identifies the agreed-upon
mediator or states that the parties are unable to agree upon a mediator. If the notice
states that the parties are unable to agree upon a mediator, this Court will assign a
mediator.
Mediation must occur within sixty days after the date of this order; however, it is
left to the parties and the mediator to agree on the location of the mediation.
No less than seven calendar days before the first scheduled mediation session,
each party must provide the mediator and all other parties with an information sheet
setting forth the party’s positions about the issues that need to be resolved. At or before
the first session, all parties must produce all information necessary for the mediator to
understand the issues presented. The mediator may require any party to supplement
the information required by this Order.
Named parties must be present during the entire mediation process.
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Immediately after mediation, the mediator must advise this Court, in writing,
only that the case did or did not settle and the amount of the mediator’s fee paid by
each party. The mediator’s fees will be taxed as costs. Unless the mediator agrees to
mediate without fee, the mediator must negotiate a reasonable fee with the parties, and
the parties must each pay one-half of the agreed-upon fee directly to the mediator.
Failure or refusal to attend the mediation as scheduled may result in the
imposition of sanctions, as permitted by law.
Any objection to this Order must be filed with this Court and served upon all
parties within twenty days after the date of this Order, or it is waived.
We refer this appeal to mediation.
The appeal and all appellate deadlines are suspended as of the date of this Order.
The suspension of the appeal is automatically lifted when the mediator’s report to the
Court is received. If the matter is not resolved at mediation, any deadline that began to
run and had not expired by the date of this Order will begin anew as of the date the
mediator’s report to the Court is received. Any document filed by a party after the date
of this Order and prior to the filing of the mediator’s report will be deemed filed on the
same day, but after, the mediator’s report is received.
PER CURIAM
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Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Davis, and
Justice Neill
Order issued and filed April 15, 2020
[RWR]
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