Once again, an appellate court in California has confirmed the “…near categorical prohibition against judicially crafted exceptions to mediation confidentiality.” In Amis v Greenberg Traurig, LLP et al, (Issued March 18, 2015, Case No. BC 426815) (Id. at 8.), the Court of Appeal for the Second Appellate District held that mediation [Read More]
Recently, I participated on a panel on Mediation Confidentiality sponsored by the Southern California Mediation Association. As many of you are aware, the California Supreme Court has very strictly interpreted the mediation statutes in California Evidence Code Sections 1115-1128 to the point of repeatedly holding that there are no exceptions [Read More]
In the context of a marital dissolution proceeding, is there (or should there be) an exception to mediation confidentiality (California Evidence Code section 1119) for financial disclosures “prepared for the purpose of” and used “in the course of … the mediation?” (Evidence Code section 1119). This is the issue that [Read More]
The First Appellate District of the California Court of Appeal published, then depublished (California Rule of Court 8.1105), then certified for publication a decision holding that a printed name and address at the end of an e-mail allegedly confirming the terms of a settlement do NOT constitute an enforceable settlement [Read More]
Just before Christmas, Travelers Commercial Insurance Company ("Travelers") submitted its brief in opposition (Travelers reply 3.pdf ) to that submitted by the Southern California Mediation Association ("SCMA") as amicus curiae on the issue of mediation confidentiality. In its amicus curiae brief, SCMA queried whether the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals should [Read More]
Earlier this year, I posted a blog about a U. S. District Court case, Craig Milhouse and Pamela Milhouse v. Travelers Commercial Insurance Company (Case No. SACV-10-01730-CJC (ANx), C.D. Cal.), in which the court held that a "due process" exception applies to mediation confidentiality. Plaintiffs sued defendant for insurance bad [Read More]
Once again, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has addressed the issue of the federal common law mediation confidentiality privilege without addressing it. It avoids the issue by saying that while the federal common law mediation confidentiality privilege applies, the defendant waived it and so it is not necessary to [Read More]
Recently, I received an e mail alerting me to an order (Order_Mot for Remit_MSJ re New Trial.pdf ) of a federal court providing that mediation confidentiality would not apply to prevent an insurance company from using statements made during mediation to defend itself against claims of insurance bad faith.In Craig Milhouse [Read More]
