CMADRESS – One year old and going strong
Background and history
Santa Barbara attorneys are now, after more than a year in operation, easily familiar with the name of the new CADRe program, CMADRESS (Case Management Alternative Dispute Resolution Early Settlement Session). This program was spearheaded by Judge J. William McLafferty and the Santa Barbara Court ADR Committee. After many months of planning and successful application for funds from the Administrative Office of the Courts in Sacramento, the CMADRESS program can now be considered a success after its first full year.
Court administration of the CMADRESS program was delegated to the CADRe office. Many facilitators who have already qualified as CADRe neutrals have volunteered to participate in an assignment in the CMADRESS program. Therefore, not all CADRe neutrals receive CMADRESS assignments. Assignments are handled by the CADRe director.
Report card after one consecutive year
Feedback meetings were recently held in response to the CMADRESS program of the local bar and participating facilitators. The general consensus of opinion was favorable to the CMADRESS program. Current grant funding has been able to sustain the program. A new change created was to extend the amount of time to complete the CMADRESS from 45 days to 60 days after neutral assignment. This will allow all parties to be better prepared for the session and will also clear up some scheduling hurdles. Additionally, if additional time is needed beyond this 60-day period, it will now be the responsibility of the parties to obtain permission to perform the CMADRESS beyond this time frame. Previously, it was the responsibility of the assigned facilitator to obtain additional time to conduct the CMADRESS.
The CADRe website maintains statistics on all CMADRESS case assignments. This includes, but is not limited to, the number of cases that have been assigned to CMADRESS for both North and South County, the number that have been completed, the number that have moved on to Post Settlement Mediation advance and reached an agreement and those who have also given way to mediation after the Advance Conciliation Session but have ended in no agreement. These statistics are updated periodically.
The statistics speak to the success of the CMADRESS program for both North and South County. More cases have been referred to the CMADRESS program in South County, giving it a numerical and statistical advantage. However, review of the statistics from both locations shows that over the course of a year, more and more cases are being resolved through the CMADRESS program.
Your new case and CMADRESS
Assignment to CMADRESS begins at a Case Management Conference of any civil case. CMADRESS is used for all civil litigation cases determined by the court to have a value greater than $50,000.00. CMADRESS is not used with family law matters. At the time of the CMC when the case is ordered to CMADRESS, the parties can also expect the court to set a Mandatory Settlement Conference date, as well as a corresponding Trial date.
Once ordered to CMADRESS, all parties must act promptly to contact the CADRe office within a specified time frame (10 days) for the assignment of a neutral. The court-imposed deadline for completing the CMADRESS session is now 60 days from the neutral’s assignment and this change should be reflected in all future case management orders. Similar to CADRe’s limited mediation assignment, once a facilitator is assigned to the CMADRESS case, the parties and attorneys must initiate contact with the facilitator to schedule a session. When the scheduling is arranged within the term allowed by the court, the parties must notify the CADRe office of the date, time and place of the session.
When attempting to schedule the CMADRESS session, if the parties and/or attorneys are unable to hold the session within the 60 court day time frame, an extension of time may be requested. This request should briefly explain the reason for the delay and the need for more time. Approval is obtained only from the Settlement Conference judge, not from the judge assigned to the trial. This rule applies to cases in both the north and south of the county. The request must also specify the exact amount of additional time informing the court of the future date of the CMADRESS session. The extension of time to complete CMADRESS does not apply to the MSC or Trial date. These will remain unchanged if the court approves the request for an extension to hold a CMADRESS session. Extensions of MSC and/or trial dates must be directed to the assigned trial judge and must be accompanied by the assigned neutral.
Participating in the CMADRESS
The conduct of the CMADRESS for all effects and purposes is the same or similar to that of any Mandatory Conciliation Conference or Mediation. Necessary parties with full liquidation authority are required to attend. Telephone appearances will not be allowed. The designated trial attorney for each party is also required to attend the CMADRESS. All parties are encouraged to submit reports to the facilitator to better understand the facts of the case.
During CMADRESS, the facilitator will discuss with all CMADRESS parties, the ADR process and available alternative ADR methods. This will include discovery costs for alternative ADR methods, as well as discovery costs for the Lawsuit and eventual Lawsuit costs. The court pays the facilitator for the three hours of the CMADRESS session. Thereafter, if the parties and the lawyers agree to use an alternative ADR method by contracting the services of the assigned facilitator, payment to this intermediary becomes the responsibility of the litigants. Parties and/or attorneys also have the right to hire someone other than the assigned CMADRESS facilitator if they intend to pursue alternative ADR methods instead of or in addition to the CMADRESS session. In the event of either of those two options, a stipulation on the CADRe form must be completed, signed, and filed with the CADRe office for Court approval and filing, and the parties will be responsible for the facilitator’s fee.
At the conclusion of the CMADRESS session, the facilitator delivers and submits a CMADRESS report to the court listing attendees, whether any future ADR is being considered, whether any extensions will be necessary, and whether ADR and Trial issues, including they discussed the discovery and costs of litigation. Parties and/or attorneys are requested to complete a CMADRESS evaluation of the neutral to be returned to the CADRe office.
Conclusion
In summary, after one year, the CMADRESS program was launched and has performed successfully, in many cases, beyond the expectations of the local bar and court. The High Court ADR committee must make continuous adjustments. This can only be done with the future input of the public bar. It is the hope of the ADR committee that the current success of the program will result in future funding from the AOC in Sacramento for this court and, perhaps, other courts in California, as this is a pilot program for all state courts.