Opinion
2:23-cv-513
08-07-2024
MB MARINE LLC and GOLDEN EAGLE, Plaintiffs, v. WIEHLE INDUSTRIES INC., Defendant.
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO COMPEL MEDIATION
Jamal N. Whitehead, United States District Judge
Before the Court is Plaintiff MB Marine LLC's Motion to Compel Mediation, Dkt. No. 25, in which MB Marine asks that the Court to order Defendant and Counterclaimant Wiehle Industries, Inc. to attend mediation. After considering the briefing, the record, and the law, the Court is fully informed and denies MB Marine's Motion, Dkt. No. 25.
Participation in alternative dispute resolution “is voluntary unless the court orders the parties to participate.” LCR 39.1(a)(4). The Court may order mediation, “even over a party's objection, where doing so would yield significant benefits.” Jones v. Bank of Am. N.A., CASE NO. C14-836 RAJ, 2015 WL 11661769, at *2 (W.D. Wash. Apr. 2, 2015); see LCR 39.1(a)(4).
The Court finds no reason to force Wiehle to mediate against its will. See Dkt. No. 27. The case is on the eve of trial, and these sophisticated, represented litigants have already engaged in settlement discussions to no avail. See Dkt. No. 25 at 6; Dkt. No. 27 at 5-6. Under these facts, the Court finds that ordering mediation would not “yield significant benefits” and declines to do so. See Jones, 2015 WL 11661769, at *2; LCR 39.1(a)(4). Accordingly, MB Marine's Motion to Compel Mediation, Dkt. No. 25, is DENIED.