A Georgia judge can order you to attend mediation or another form of alternative dispute resolution before your divorce is tried.
The Court Screens the Case First
The uniform rules for Georgia’s court-connected ADR programs appear as Appendix A to the Supreme Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules. Rule 2(B) requires that a case be screened by the judge or the court program to determine whether it is appropriate for ADR, whether the parties are able to compensate the neutral if compensation is required, and whether a need for emergency relief makes a referral inappropriate until the court has heard that request.
You Can Be Made to Attend, Not to Settle
Under Rule 2(F), parties “may be ordered to attend a mediation session, a case evaluation or early neutral evaluation conference, or a non-binding arbitration.” The same rule requires that “the order mandating attendance must clearly state that compliance does not require settlement or acceptance of an arbitration award.”
The Case Does Not Stop While You Are There
Rule 2(G) provides that scheduling a case for an ADR conference “shall not remove the case from assignment to a judge, interfere with discovery, nor serve to postpone scheduled motions before the court.” Moreover, Rule 2(H) lets a party apply for interim or emergency relief at any time, and the ADR process continues while that motion is pending unless the court orders otherwise.
Asking Out
Rule 4 lets any party petition the court “to have the party’s case removed from an ADR process,” or to be referred to a different process instead. If your concern is the neutral rather than the process, Rule 5 lets you petition the court program to appoint someone else because of a conflict or because you believe the neutral’s objectivity is in question.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!