(a) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of
this section, communications made by a participant during Alternative
Dispute Resolution (ADR) concerning the subject matter of the ADR,
are confidential, not subject to disclosure, and may not be used as
evidence in any proceeding.
(b) Any notes or record made of or during ADR are confidential,
and participants, including the mediator, may not be required to testify
in any proceedings relating to or arising out of the matter in dispute
or be subject to process requiring disclosure of confidential information
or data relating to or arising out of the matter in dispute.
(c) An oral communication or written material used
in or made a part of ADR is admissible or discoverable only if it
is admissible or discoverable independent of ADR.
(d) If this section conflicts with other legal requirements
for disclosure of communications or materials, the issue of confidentiality
may be presented to the judge to determine, in camera, whether the
facts, circumstances, and context of the communications or materials
sought to be disclosed warrant a protective order or whether the communications
or materials are subject to disclosure.
(e) All communications in a mediation between parties
and between each party and the mediator are confidential. No shared
information will be given to the other party unless the party sharing
the information explicitly gives the mediator permission to do so.
Material provided to the mediator will not be provided to other parties
and will not be filed or become part of the contested case record.
All notes taken during mediation will be destroyed at the end of the
process.
|