Opinion
13-23-00571-CV
02-23-2024
AHMED EL SAYED, Appellant, v. ANNA GHALUMIAN, Appellee.
On appeal from the 73rd District Court of Bexar County, Texas.
Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Benavides and Tijerina
ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REFERRING CASE TO MEDIATION
PER CURIAM
This cause is before the Court on appellant's unopposed motion to abate to allow for mediation. Upon review of the unopposed motion and in consideration of the parties' existing agreement to mediate, the Court has determined the case should be referred to mediation. Accordingly, it is ordered that this appeal be abated, and the case be mediated under the following terms and conditions:
1. The parties shall mediate this matter, as previously agreed, on or before March 18, 2024. The parties may agree to reschedule the mediation; if rescheduled, the parties shall notify the Court of the new mediation date in writing within five days of the agreement.
2. In the discretion of the mediator, each party may be required to provide a confidential memorandum and/or information sheet setting forth the issues of the case and their positions on these issues. Additionally, upon request of the mediator, the parties shall produce all information the mediator deems necessary to understand the issues of the case. The memorandum and/or information sheet and other information produced to the mediator will not be made a part of the file in this case and will be destroyed by the mediator at the conclusion of the mediation proceeding.
3. All parties to this matter or their authorized representatives, accompanied by their counsel, must appear, and attend the mediation proceeding. Where allowable, the parties may elect to attend the mediation remotely by teleconference or videoconference. The mediation shall be for a full day.
4. Mediation is a mandatory, non-binding settlement conference conducted with the assistance of a mediator. The mediation proceeding will be confidential within the meaning of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code sections 154.053 and 154.073.
5. Unless otherwise agreed, the mediation proceeding will not be recorded.
6. The mediator will negotiate a reasonable fee with the parties. The mediator's fee will be borne equally by the parties unless otherwise agreed by the parties and will be paid directly to the mediator.
7. Within two days after the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator shall certify to this Court as follows: (a) whether the parties appeared as ordered; (b) whether the case settled; and (c) whether the mediation fees were paid as agreed by the parties.
8. If mediation fully resolves the issues in this case, the parties must file a joint or agreed motion seeking dispositive relief within fourteen days of the conclusion of the mediation. If the parties need more time to effectuate the terms of the settlement agreement, they must, within fourteen days of the conclusion of mediation, file a joint or agreed motion for an extension of time to file their disposition motion.
It is further ordered that this case is abated pending this Court's review of the mediator's report and further order of this Court.