ADR Case Updates
Mediation Confidentiality, 07/15/04
In case you have not seen it, attached is the very recent and much-awaited decision in Rojas v. Superior Court, in which the California Supreme Court held that writings prepared for mediation are not admissible or subject to discovery under Evidence Code § 1119. A divided Appellate Court had carved out an exception for certain types of writings, and applied work product principles to others. Reversing that holding, the Supreme Court observed that confidentiality is essential to effective mediation because it promotes candid and informal exchange of information that may lead to settlement. Without confidentiality, the court reasoned, litigants may be less willing to mediate. Therefore, all writings prepared for mediation are protected.
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