Opinion
No. 10-18-00324-CV No. 10-19-00016-CV
07-10-2020
IN THE MATTER OF THE MARRIAGE OF TINA LEA HAIGHT AND GRADY MARTIN HAIGHT, AND IN THE INTEREST OF D.J.H., A.G.H., AND H.K.H., CHILDREN TINA L. HAIGHT, Appellant v. MARK FRANKHAUSER, ADMINISTRATOR WITH WILL ANNEXED OF ESTATE OF GRADY MARTIN HAIGHT, DECEASED, Appellee
From the 378th District Court Ellis County, Texas
Trial Court No. 78568D From the County Court at Law Ellis County, Texas
Trial Court No. 14-E-2094-18CV3
ORDER
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 AD. 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 these appeals are appropriate for mediation. See id. § 154.021(a). This Court assigns the Honorable Deborah Hankinson as mediator. Her contact information is as follows:
Honorable Deborah Hankinson
Hankinson, PLLC
750 N. St. Paul St., Suite 1800
Dallas, TX 75201
Email: deborah@dhankinson.com
(214)754-9185
Fax: (214)754-9140
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, and it is suggested that the parties provide the mediator with their appellate briefs. The mediator may require any party to supplement the information required by this Order.
Named parties must be present during the entire mediation process, and each corporate party must be represented by a corporate employee, officer, or agent with authority to bind the corporate party to settlement.
Immediately after mediation, the mediator must advise this Court, in writing, only that the cases did or did not settle and the amount of the mediator's fee paid by each party. The mediator's fee 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 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 ten days after the date of this order, or it is waived.
We refer these appeals to mediation.
The appeal and all appellate deadlines are suspended as of the date of this Order. The suspension of the appeals 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 Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Davis, and Justice Neill
Order issued and filed July 10, 2020