Settlement and Alternative Dispute Resolution
ADR
Mediation confidentiality statutes protect statements, documents prepared for mediation, and the mediator's observations from discovery and admission. Scope and exceptions vary substantially by state.
Federal courts apply varying approaches absent a uniform privilege.
Alternative Names:
Confidentiality in Mediation, Mediation Privacy
Why it Matters?
Scope variation is what requires attention before candid discussion, since some statutes protect only communications while others reach documents and the fact of positions taken, and exceptions for fraud, duress, and enforcement disputes differ. Whether the protection survives into a subsequent enforcement action over the settlement itself is the practical question, because proving the terms of an oral agreement may require the very communications the statute protects.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does confidentiality survive an enforcement dispute?
What should be confirmed before mediation?
