Opinion
08-24-00011-CV
02-13-2024
THE CITY OF EL PASO, TEXAS, Appellant, v. SARA MELDRUM, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF MINOR ALISON MELDRUM, Appellee.
Appeal from the 205th District Court of El Paso County, Texas (TC# 2022-DCV-2328)
Before Alley, C.J., Palafox and Soto, JJ.
ORDER FOR MEDIATION REFERRAL
PER CURIAM.
Before the Court is the parties' joint motion to abate the appeal and suspend the appellate timetable. The motion is GRANTED. In the motion, the parties state that they wish to conduct a private mediation. Therefore, the Court ORDERS this case referred to mediation. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. § 154.021. Any objection to this order must be filed with this Court and served upon all parties within ten (10) days of the date of this order. An untimely filed objection may be considered waived.
The Court further ORDERS that the parties shall, within twenty (20) days of this order, or within ten (10) days of an adverse ruling on an objection, confer and attempt to agree upon a mediator qualified under § 154.052 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code. Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §154.052. The parties shall notify the Court of the name, address, telephone, and email address of the mediator. If the parties are unable to agree upon a qualified mediator, the parties are directed to immediately notify the Court in writing, and upon receipt, the Court will enter an order reestablishing the appellate timetable.
The Court further ORDERS that the mediation be held within sixty (60) days of this order and that case is ABATED during such time. All parties or their representative with full settlement authority shall attend the mediation process, with their counsel of record. The mediator and parties shall file a report of the completion of mediation within forty-eight (48) hours of the conclusion of mediation advising the Court of:
• full, partial, or no resolution of the case;
• whether further negotiations are planned; and
• compensation paid to the mediator and by whom.
In the event no further negotiations are planned and there is no resolution, or a partial resolution of the case occurs, the parties will file a motion with this Court requesting that the Court issue an order reinstating the case. This motion will accompany the above-mentioned forty-eight (48) hours report.
The Court further ORDERS, in the event of full resolution of the issues in this case, that the parties file a joint dispositive motion, in compliance with Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 42.1(a)(2), within ten (10) days of the conclusion of mediation. See Tex. R. App. P. 42.1(a)(2) (providing the requirements for a joint motion to dismiss).
IT IS SO ORDERED.