County Mediation Matters |
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A Publication of the Administrative Office of the Court |
Volume 10, No. 5 October 2004 |
Mediator Mailboxes
Please remember to check your mailbox in the far back corner of Janet's office on a regular basis. This is where we put reimbursements to be signed, evaluations, and other miscellaneous items. Any items that need to be returned to Janet can be placed in either one of her two gray “in” boxes.
Also, please be sure to check the postings on the adjacent bulletin board where you will find the schedule for the current month, announcements about upcoming CME activities, and a variety of other items.
Court County Mediation Program
As of July 1, 2004, parties in county court cases (claim amount greater than $5,000 but less than $15,000) may elect to use the court County Mediation Program services for any county court mediation. Each party using the court County Mediation Program will be required to pay a user fee of $40 per person per session to the Clerk of Court prior to the commencement of the mediation. No fee is assessed for parties who are determined to be indigent.
The list of County Court Program Mediators includes those mediators who volunteer for small claims mediation. Parties are first given the opportunity to select their mediator from the list of program mediators. If they do not wish to select the mediator, Janet will assign one from the rotation list. The mediator will be paid $75 per county court case. No additional compensation will be given for expenses or for multiple sessions. In order to mediate these cases, each mediator must sign a contract. If you are an active volunteer who wishes to be eligible to mediate these paid cases, but have not already executed a contract, please see Janet. At the end of each month, each mediator who is due payment must submit an invoice to the program. Invoices are due on the fifth day of the following month. For example, invoices for October 2004 are due on November 5, 2004. See Janet for copies of the invoice form and for instructions on how to complete the invoices. We will submit the invoices to the state for direct payment to the mediators.
To date, we have completed two program mediations and are in the process of scheduling a third. We hope to increase these numbers as parties and attorneys become more familiar with the benefits of using the court program.
Small Claims Dockets
As those of you who have been regularly attending small claims pre-trials have undoubtedly noticed, the dockets have been shrinking and we often have too many mediators for the case load. We are open to suggestions as to how or if we should change the method of scheduling and are especially interested in any creative ideas on how to use our available talent in alternative ways. One suggestion is to have a mediator available outside the courtroom during the 10:00 a.m. docket to assist unrepresented litigants with drafting stipulations. Does anyone have any other ideas?
Calendar
Please take note of the following important dates through the end of 2004:
October 15 |
October CME Luncheon |
October 29 |
No Court |
November 11-12 |
Veterans Day/Homecoming Court Holidays - No Court |
Thursday, November 18 |
Special Division V Pre-Trial Conference |
November 19 |
November CME Luncheon |
November 25-26 |
Thanksgiving Holiday |
December 17 |
No Court |
December 16 (note date change) |
Holiday Appreciation Luncheon |
Thursday, December 23 |
Pretrials to be held on this Thursday instead of Friday |
December 24 |
Court Holiday - No Court |
December 31 |
Court Holiday - No Court |
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How to reach us:
Robin Davis, ADR Director Phone: 352-491-4417 Fax: 352-381-0109 E-Mail: rkd@circuit8.org |
Janet Hearn, Mediation Services Coordinator Phone: 352-491-4645 Fax: 352-381-0109 E-Mail: jkh@circuit8.org
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If you are a person with a disability who needs any accommodation in order to participate in county mediation proceedings you are entitled, at no cost to you, to the provision of certain assistance. Please contact the Court Administrator’s Office by phone at (352) 337-6237 or in person or in writing at 201 E. University Ave, Gainesville FL 32601 within 2 working days of your receipt of this newsletter; if you are hearing impaired, call (800) 955-8771; if you are voice impaired, call (800) 955-8770.