On Bankruptcy and Mediation
By Donald L. Swanson Attorneys make mistakes. It happens. Here’s a case where two competing attorneys each violate a court rule on mediation confidentiality: In re Anonymous, 283 F.3d 627 (4th Cir. 2002). The hand-slap The two attorneys get hauled before the Court to explain their dastardly deeds. But in the end, they only get... Continue Reading →
Alive and well (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson You don’t see this very often: a dispute over the confidentiality of mediation communications. But such a dispute recently happened in In re Barretts Minerals, Inc., Case No. 23-90794, Southern Texas Bankruptcy Court. And the result is this: mediation confidentiality remains alive and well. In... Continue Reading →
Sharing secrets with everyone? (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson In an opinion dated November 14, 2023, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rules in favor of an attorney who inadvertently sent a private-thoughts email by “Reply to all.” The opinion is In re OptumRx, Inc., Case No.23-3882. Background The opioid crisis... Continue Reading →
Disclosure? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson “within three (3) business days of termination of the mediation, the Debtors shall publicly disclose the terms of the last offers extended by each of the Mediation Parties, respectively.”[Fn. 1] Say what!? Whoever heard of such a thing—a requirement that the “last offers” of the mediating parties... Continue Reading →
Managing tension (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson On January 3, 2022, Reuters reports, under the heading “Judge orders mediation for Purdue, Sacklers over opioid settlement,” as follows: A U.S. bankruptcy judge orders mediation in the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy [fn. 1], calling for the company, the Sackler family members that own it and nine... Continue Reading →
Pursuing a strategy? (Photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson “There is no federal mediation privilege”;“the mediator's testimony about the mediation is not privileged”; and“there is no legal bar to Defendants seeking the [mediator’s testimony] with regard to the mediation and settlement negotiations.” --Roberts v. City of Fairbanks, Case No. 17-cv-00034, U.S. District Court of... Continue Reading →
Not real (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson An insurer in the Boy Scouts of America bankruptcy [fn. 1] files a motion to compel production of documents held by a proposed mediator who did not become an actual mediator in the case. The proposed mediator opposes production based upon a mediation privilege. Guess how... Continue Reading →
A confidential location (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By Donald L. Swanson The opinion is Adkisson et al. v. Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc., Case Nos. 13-CV-505 et al., in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Tennessee (decided July 7, 2020, Doc. 561). The opinion addresses Defendant’s Motion for an order: Enforcing the confidentiality of mediation; andImposing sanctions... Continue Reading →
Unlimited access (photo by Marilyn Swanson) By: Donald L Swanson Mediation confidentiality is sacrosanct. Or, so we are all taught in mediation training courses. But in a New Jersey case, from earlier this year, mediation confidentiality is not sacrosanct at all: communications before, during and after mediation sessions are testified to profusely by parties, attorneys and... Continue Reading →
By: Donald L. Swanson Every now and then we get a refresher on mediation confidentiality and how it works. Here is one such refresher. The case is Apollo Education Group, Inc. v. National Union Fire Insurance, Case No. CV-15-01948 in Arizona's U.S. District Court. The District Court addresses the admissibility into evidence of three documents from a... Continue Reading →
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