Letha Pillai v. Jesus Vega and Dalia Vega ( 2014 )

Order issued June 5, 2014
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
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NO. 01-14-00215-CV
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LETHA PILLAI, Appellant
V.
JESUS VEGA AND DALIA VEGA, Appellees
On Appeal from the 234th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case No. 2011-68692
MEMORANDUM ORDER
OF REFERRAL TO MEDIATION
The parties have filed an agreed motion, requesting the Court to grant
mediation in this case; refer this appeal for mediation to Norman Roser, as
mediator; and stay the appeal. We grant the motion in part and refer this appeal for
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resolution by mediation with Norman Roser, as mediator. See TEX. CIV. PRAC. &
REM. CODE ANN. §§ 154.021, 154.022(a), 154.023.
The Court sets the following deadlines:
• No later than 10 days from the date that this order is issued, the
parties shall conduct the mediation.
• No later than two days from the conclusion of the mediation,
the parties and the mediator shall advise the Clerk of this Court
in writing whether the parties did or did not settle the
underlying dispute, and the mediator shall file with the Clerk of
this Court a completed “Appointment and Fee Report—
Mediation” form. This document can be downloaded from the
forms page of the Court’s website at
http://www.1stcoa.courts.state.tx.us.
All parties, or their representative with full settlement authority, shall attend
the mediation with their counsel. The mediator shall encourage and assist the
parties in reaching a settlement of their dispute, but may not compel or coerce the
parties to enter into a settlement agreement. See id. § 154.053(a). All
communications relating to the mediation are confidential and not subject to
disclosure, except as set forth by law. See id. § 154.073. The Clerk of this Court,
however, will file this order and the “Appointment and Fee Report—Mediation”
forms with the other documents filed in this appeal that are available for public
inspection.
Unless expressly authorized by the disclosing party, the mediator may not
disclose to either party information given in confidence by the other and shall at all
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times maintain confidentiality with respect to communications relating to the
subject matter of the dispute. See id. § 154.053(b). Unless the parties agree
otherwise, all matters, including the conduct and demeanor of the parties and their
counsel during the settlement process, are confidential and may never be disclosed
to anyone, including this Court. See id. § 154.053(c).
The Court will consider the agreed fee for the mediator’s services to be
reasonable and tax that fee as a cost of the appeal unless the parties agree to
another method of payment. See id. § 154.054.
Nothing in this order modifies the timetables in the Texas Rules of Appellate
Procedure regarding the appellate record and briefs. Nevertheless, we grant in part
the request for an extension of time to file appellant’s brief. Appellant’s brief is
due to be filed within 30 days from the date of this order.
/s/ Jim Sharp
Justice Jim Sharp
Acting Individually
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