How Does the Civil Mediation Program – Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta Work?
There are two ways for parties to proceed to mediation through the Civil Mediation Program – Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. The first way is for parties to opt into the Program. If all parties to a lawsuit agree to go to mediation, then the parties may select a Roster Mediator and schedule mediation directly with the mediator.
Another way for parties to proceed to mediation is for one party to the lawsuit to file and serve a
Request to Mediate. A
Request to Mediate is simply a court document that one party can use to request that all of the parties go to mediation. The Court of Queen's Bench issued a Practice Note that governs the
Request to Mediate process, and sets out circumstances in which parties are eligible file a
Request to Mediate.
The Practice Note says that any party can file a Request to Mediate if:
- the lawsuit relates to a civil, non-family action;
- the lawsuit is filed in the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta;
- the lawsuit started on or after September 1, 2004;
- the lawsuit is filed in the Judicial District of Edmonton or Lethbridge/MacLeod.
- the Affidavits of Records of all parties have been filed and served; and
- a Certificate of Readiness has not been filed.
If a party who has been served with a
Request to Mediate does not wish to proceed to mediation, that party must file a
Response to the Request to Mediate, which lists the reasons why he/she does not want to mediate.
If a party files a Response to the Request to Mediate which says that he/she does not want to mediate, all parties must meet with a Mediation Coordinator for a Situation Assessment Meeting (S.A.M.). At the S.A.M., parties can:
- learn more about interest-based mediation, and how it compares to other methods of dispute resolution
- discuss whether mediation is appropriate for their lawsuit
- learn about the benefits to mediation
- discuss concerns about mediation
If parties cannot agree about how to proceed by the end of the S.A.M., the Mediation Coordinator is empowered to decide for them. Parties may appeal this decision to a Justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta.
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