§251. Mediation

1.  Court authority to order mediation.  The court may, in any case under this Title, at any time refer the parties to mediation on any issue.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

2.  Required mediation.  Except as provided in paragraph B, prior to a contested hearing under chapter 27, chapter 29, chapter 55, chapter 61 or chapter 63 when there are minor children of the parties, the court shall refer the parties to mediation.

A. For good cause shown, the court, prior to referring the parties to mediation, may hear motions for temporary relief, pending final judgment on an issue or combination of issues for which good cause for temporary relief has been shown.   [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

B. Upon motion supported by affidavit, the court may, for extraordinary cause shown, waive the mediation requirement under this subsection.   [PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

[PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. C, §6 (AMD); PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).]

3.  Mediated agreement.  An agreement reached by the parties through mediation on issues must be reduced to writing, signed by the parties and presented to the court for approval as a court order.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

4.  No agreement; good faith effort required.  When agreement through mediation is not reached on an issue, the court must determine that the parties made a good faith effort to mediate the issue before proceeding with a hearing. If the court finds that either party failed to make a good faith effort to mediate, the court may order the parties to submit to mediation, may dismiss the action or a part of the action, may render a decision or judgment by default, may assess attorney's fees and costs or may impose any other sanction that is appropriate in the circumstances.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

5.  Failure to appear.  The court may also impose an appropriate sanction upon a party's failure without good cause to appear for mediation after receiving notice of the scheduled time for mediation.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

6.  Waiver of mediation; questions of law.  The court may hear motions to waive mediation in cases in which there are no facts at issue and all unresolved issues are questions of law.

[PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 (NEW); PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. E, §2 (AFF).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1995, c. 694, §B2 (NEW). PL 1995, c. 694, §E2 (AFF). PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. C, §6 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 296, Pt. D, §1 (AFF).