Rule 25.03 Selection of Cases for Mediation

A judge can send a case to mediation in a few different ways. The judge can decide on their own that a case should go to mediation, one of the parties involved can ask for it, or both parties can agree to it together.

If the court orders a case into mediation, the parties have 15 days to object in writing. The objection needs to explain the specific reasons why mediation shouldn't happen. The judge will look at the objection and can change the original order if there's a good reason to do so.

Even after a case goes to mediation, it doesn't disappear from the court's schedule. The case stays on the docket and keeps its place on the trial calendar. This means the case is still moving toward trial while the mediation process happens at the same time.