IN THE

TENTH COURT OF APPEALS

No. 10-10-00415-CV

Veronica Hernandez Gomez,

Individually, and as Personal

Representative of the Estate of

Victor Gomez, Deceased, and on

behalf of all Wrongful Death Beneficiaries,

                                                                                    Appellants

 v.

Charter Builders, LTD,

                                                                                    Appellee

From the 170th District Court

McLennan County, Texas

Trial Court Nos. 2008-2947-4 & 2010-3704-4

        The Legislature has provided for the resolution of disputes through alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedures.  See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code Ann. §§ 154.001-154.073 (West 2005).  The policy behind ADR is stated in the statute: “It is the policy of this state to encourage the peaceable resolution of disputes . . . and the early settlement of pending litigation through voluntary settlement procedures.”  Id. § 154.002 (West 2005).  Mediation is a form of ADR.  Mediation is a mandatory but non-binding settlement conference, conducted with the assistance of a mediator.  Mediation is private, confidential, and privileged.

            Appellants have indicated on their Docketing Statement that this proceeding is appropriate for mediation.  We find that this appeal is appropriate for mediation.  See id. § 154.021(a) (West 2005); 10th Tex. App. (Waco) Loc. R. 9.

        Appellants also assert that an appellate mediator cannot be agreed upon.  The Court assigns the Honorable Deborah Hankinson as the mediator.  Her address and telephone number is as follows:

750 North St. Paul Street, Suite 1800

Dallas, TX, 75201

(214) 754-9190

            Mediation must occur within sixty days of this order.

            No less than seven calendar days before the first scheduled mediation session, each party must provide the mediator and all other parties with an information sheet setting forth the party’s positions about the issues that need to be resolved.  At or before the first session, all parties must produce all information necessary for the mediator to understand the issues presented.  The mediator may require any party to supplement the information required by this Order.

            Named parties must be present during the entire mediation process, and each corporate party must be represented by a corporate employee, officer, or agent with authority to bind the corporate party to settlement.

            Immediately after mediation, the mediator must advise this Court, in writing, only that the case did or did not settle and the amount of the mediator’s fee paid by each party.  The mediator’s fees will be taxed as costs.  Unless the mediator agrees to mediate without fee, the mediator must negotiate a reasonable fee with the parties, and the parties must each pay one-half of the agreed-upon fee directly to the mediator.

            Failure or refusal to attend the mediation as scheduled may result in the imposition of sanctions, as permitted by law.

            Any objection to this Order must be filed with this Court and served upon all parties within ten days after the date of this Order, or it is waived.

            We refer this appeal to mediation.

            The appeal and all appellate deadlines are suspended as of the date of this Order.  The suspension of the appeal is automatically lifted when the mediator’s report to the Court is received.  If the matter is not resolved at mediation, any deadline that began to run and had not expired by the date of this Order will begin anew as of the date the mediator’s report to the Court is received.  Any document filed by a party after the date of this Order and prior to the filing of the mediator’s report will be deemed filed on the same day, but after, the mediator’s report is received.

PER CURIAM

Before Chief Justice Gray,

        Justice Davis, and

        Justice Scoggins

Order issued and filed March 9, 2011

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