Opinion
NO. 01-19-00481-CV
04-30-2020
SAMANTHA TIANNE ERICKSON, Appellant v. LEE ROBERT ERICKSON, Appellee
On Appeal from the 308th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2013-10540
MEMORANDUM ORDER OF REFERRAL TO MEDIATION
The Court has determined that it is appropriate to refer this appeal for resolution by mediation. Mediation affords the parties an opportunity to resolve these family-law issues to ensure the best interests of their child while taking into account their family needs and priorities.
Unsupervised visitation has been in place for over nine months. While the Court is limited to a record that is frozen in time as of the date of judgment, the parties are well aware of how the parties have interacted with each other and the child in the past nine months and how those interactions and other events have affected their child.
Having concluded that this appeal is suitable for mediation, the Court orders that the parties be referred to mediation under the following procedures and deadlines.
1. The parties may object to mediation. An objection, if any, must be filed with the Clerk of this Court no later than 3:00 pm on May 14, 2020.
2. Absent objection, the parties shall choose a mediator who is board certified in family law.
3. No later than 3:00 pm on May 28, 2020, the parties shall file with the Clerk of this Court a completed "Parties' Notification to Court of Mediator." This document can be downloaded from the forms page of the Court's website at http://www.txcourts.gov/1stcoa. It also is attached to this order.
4. The parties shall hold mediation at a time (or times) agreeable to the parties and the mediator selected that permits the parties and the mediator to meet the reporting deadline below.
5. Mediation may be by any means agreed to by the parties and mediator to adhere to social-distancing guidelines, including Zoom meetings online, so long as the means chosen permit Samantha Erickson and Lee Erickson to actively participate in the mediation with their counsel.
6. No later than 3:00 pm on June 30, 2020, the parties and the mediator shall advise the Clerk of this Court in writing whether the parties did or did not settle the underlying dispute.
The mediator shall encourage and assist the parties in reaching a settlement of their dispute but may not compel or coerce the parties to enter into a settlement agreement. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. & REM. CODE § 154.053(a). All communications relating to the mediation are confidential and not subject to disclosure, except as set forth by law. See id. § 154.073. The Clerk of this Court, however, will file this order and the completed "Parties' Notification to Court of Mediator" with the other documents filed in this appeal that are available for public inspection. Unless expressly authorized by the disclosing party, the mediator may not disclose to either party information given in confidence by the other and shall at all times maintain confidentiality with respect to communications relating to the subject matter of the dispute. See id. § 154.053(b). Unless the parties agree otherwise, all matters, including the conduct and demeanor of the parties and their counsel during the settlement process, are confidential and may never be disclosed to anyone, including this Court. See id. § 154.053(c).
Sarah Beth Landau
Justice Panel consists of Justices Lloyd, Landau, and Countiss. On Appeal from the 308th District Court Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2013-10540
PARTIES' NOTIFICATION TO COURT OF MEDIATOR
The parties have agreed that the following person will mediate this cause:
Mediator's name: __________
State Bar of Texas identification number: __________
Mailing address: __________
Telephone number: __________
Fax number: __________
E-mail address: __________ __________
Attorney's name:
State Bar of Texas identification number:
Mailing address:
Telephone number:
Fax number:
E-mail address:
Counsel for: __________
Attorney's name:
State Bar of Texas identification number:
Mailing address:
Telephone number:
Fax number:
E-mail address:
Counsel for: