Recent Shortage of Minnesota Appellate Decisions; Pilot Mediation Program Likely Cause
For the second time in as many weeks, no family law decisions issued by the Minnesota Court of Appeals or Minnesota Supreme Court. The likely culprit? A new pilot appellate mediation program aimed specifically at family law cases. My guess is the former flood of appellate opinions is being limited by the settlement of cases.
The pilot program, which began 18 months ago, is designed, according to the State, "with the goal of decreasing the conflict levels for families, decreasing the costs to litigants and the court, and increasing efficiency and litigation satisfaction." The process is structured to reinforce and work cooperatively with the early-neutral-evaluation and other alternative-dispute processes that are become more common at the district court level.
Referral to mediation takes place after the appellant's Statement of the Case has been filed and the filing fee has been paid, but occurs before the briefing stage and before litigants incur the substantial costs of ordering transcripts from the district court where the case originated. Good news; parties to an appeal can expect to spend no less than $10,000.00 each to get through the process.
About a week ago I received a Notice of Appeal from an opposing litigant. Thus far, the Court of Appeals has stayed the proceeding (did so almost immediately) and ordered the parties to mediate within 90 days. The parties are able to rank five highly qualified mediators appearing on the Court's roster of approved neutrals. The combined blind rank of each party will determine who will serve as the neutral. A sliding fee scale has been implemented, to facilitate various income and net worth levels.
I've heard nothing but good things about the program. I'll update the process as I work my way through it for the first time.
