| (a) Parties may agree to use mediation as an option
to resolve a breach of contract claim at the time they enter into
the contract and include a contractual provision to do so. The parties
may mediate a breach of contract claim even absent a contractual provision
to do so if both parties agree.
(b) Any agreement to mediate should include consideration
of the following factors:
(1) The source of the mediator. Potential sources of
mediators include governmental officers or employees who are qualified
as mediators under Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §154.052,
private mediators, the State Office of Administrative Hearings, the
Center for Public Policy Dispute Resolution at The University of Texas
School of Law, an alternative dispute resolution system created under
Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Chapter 152, or another state
or federal agency or through a pooling agreement with several state
agencies. Before naming a mediator source in a contract, the parties
should contact the mediator source to be sure that it is willing to
serve in that capacity. In selecting a mediator, the parties should
use the qualifications set forth in §391.757 of this division
(relating to Qualifications and Immunity of the Mediator).
(2) The time period for the mediation. The parties
should allow enough time in which to make arrangements with the mediator
and attending parties to schedule the mediation, to attend and participate
in the mediation, and to complete any settlement approval procedures
necessary to achieve final settlement. Both parties must allow adequate
time for the process.
(3) The location of the mediation.
(4) Allocation of costs of the mediator.
(5) The identification of representatives who will
attend the mediation on behalf of the parties, if possible, by name
or position within the governmental unit or contracting entity.
(6) The settlement approval process in the event the
parties reach agreement at the mediation.
|
