GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1991

S	1 

SENATE BILL 791

Short Title:  Settlement Conferences/Civil Actions.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Senators Sands; and Daniel.
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Referred to:  Judiciary II.
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April 24, 1991

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A PILOT PROGRAM OF MEDIATED SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES IN SUPERIOR COURT ACTIONS.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Chapter 7A of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new section to read:
"§ 7A-38.  Court ordered, mediated settlement conferences in superior court civil actions.
(a)	Purpose.  This section is enacted in order to provide for a pilot program in judicial districts selected by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in which parties to superior court civil litigation may be required to attend a pretrial settlement conference conducted by a mediator.  The purpose of such a pilot program is to determine whether a system of mediated settlement conferences may make the operation of the superior courts more efficient, less costly, and more satisfying to the litigants.
(b)	Definitions as used in this section:
(1)	‘Mediated settlement conference' means a court ordered conference between or among the parties to a civil action and their representatives conducted by a mediator prior to trial.
(2)	‘Mediation' means an informal process conducted by a mediator with the objective of helping parties voluntarily reach a mutually acceptable settlement of their dispute.
(3)	‘Mediator' means a neutral person who acts to encourage and facilitate a resolution of a pending civil action.  A mediator does not render a judgment as to the merit of the action.
(c)	Selection of districts.  This procedure may be implemented in a judicial district or any part of a judicial district if the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge of that district determine that use of this program may assist in achieving objectives stated in subsection (a) of this section.  The Chief Justice may terminate any such pilot program after consultation with the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge.
(d)	Costs of mediated settlement conference.  Costs of the mediated settlement conference shall be paid:  one share by the plaintiffs, one share by the defendants, and one share by any third party defendant, unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to by the parties.  The rules established by the Supreme Court under subsection (d) of this section shall set out a method whereby the parties which are found by the court to be unable to pay the costs of the mediated settlement conference are afforded an opportunity to participate without cost.
(e)	Inadmissability of negotiations.  All conduct or communications made during a mediated settlement conference are presumed to be made in compromise negotiations and shall be governed by Rule 408 of the North Carolina Rules of Evidence.
(f)	Evaluation.  The pilot program authorized by this section shall be evaluated for a reasonable period of time under the direction of the Administrative Office of the Courts.  The director of that office shall report the results of his evaluation to the General Assembly.
(g)	Authority to solicit private funds.  The Administrative Office of the Courts may solicit funds from private sources to establish, conduct, and evaluate this pilot program.
(h)	Right to jury trial.  Nothing in this section or the rules promulgated by the Supreme Court implementing this section shall restrict the right to jury trial."
Sec. 2.  This act shall be implemented within funds available to the Judicial Department.
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 1991, and applies to mediated settlement conferences established on and after the Supreme Court's rules are adopted governing this establishment.