SECTION 10. MEDIATION

SESSION

.01 Discussion summaries . Each party will prepare a discussion summary of the issues (including the party’s arguments in favor of the party’s position) for consideration by the mediator. The discussion summaries should be submitted to the mediator and the other party no later than two weeks before the mediation session is scheduled to occur.

.02 Confidentiality . The mediation process is confidential. Therefore, all information concerning any dispute resolution communication is confidential and may not be disclosed by any party, participant, observer, or mediator except as provided by statute, such as in section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to confidentiality of taxpayer information, and 5 U.S.C. § 574, relating to confidentiality in federal administrative alternative dispute resolution proceedings. A dispute resolution communication includes all oral or written communications prepared for the purposes of a dispute resolution proceeding. See 5 U.S.C. § 571(5).

Bulletin No. 2014–53 1017 December 29, 2014

.03 Ex Parte Contacts With Mediator Prohibited . To ensure that one party is not in a position to exert undue influence on the mediator, ex parte contacts with the mediator outside the mediation session are prohibited.

The prohibition against ex parte communications with the mediator is intended to apply only to unsolicited contacts from one of the parties with the mediator that occur outside the mediation session. The prohibition prevents the mediator from receiving information or evidence from one party that the other party is unaware of and is unable to respond to or rebut. This provision does not prevent the mediator from contacting a party outside the mediation session, or a party from answering a question or request posed by the mediator outside of the mediation session provided that the information furnished to the mediator is made available to both parties so that no party is unaware of or unable to respond to or rebut the information.

.04 Withdrawal . Either party may withdraw from the process at any time before reaching a settlement of the issue(s) being mediated by notifying the other party and the mediator in writing.