Mark Strauss Enterprises, Inc., D/B/A Austin Auto Traders v. Jonathan Washburn and Amelia Gomez

NUMBER 13-21-00338-CV
COURT OF APPEALS
THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG
MARK STRAUSS ENTERPRISES, INC.,
D/B/A AUSTIN AUTO TRADERS, Appellants,
v.
JONATHAN WASHBURN AND
AMELIA GOMEZ, Appellees.
On appeal from the 200th District Court
of Travis County, Texas.
ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND
REFERRING CASE TO MEDIATION
Before Justices Longoria, Hinojosa, and Silva
Order Per Curiam
This cause is before the Court on its own motion. Upon review of the docketing
statements in this matter, the Court has determined the case should be referred to
mediation. Accordingly, it is ordered that this appeal be abated and the case be mediated
under the following terms and conditions:
1. The parties must promptly agree upon a mediator and, within
fourteen days of this Order, notify the Court in writing of the name
and address of the mediator selected. If the parties are unable to
agree upon a mediator, they must so notify the Court within the
fourteen-day period and the Court will appoint a mediator.
2. All parties must confer with their mediator within fourteen days of the
date of this Order, or in the case of a court appointed mediator, within
fourteen days of the appointment of the mediator, to establish a date
and place for the mediation. The parties shall agree on a date for the
mediation that is consistent with the mediator’s schedule and is no
later than thirty days after the date of this Order. In the event the
parties cannot agree on a date, the mediator shall select and set a
date. The mediator shall notify the Court of the date selected for the
mediation.
3. In the discretion of the mediator, each party may be required to
provide a confidential memorandum and/or information sheet setting
forth the issues of the case and their positions on these issues.
Additionally, upon request of the mediator, the parties shall produce
all information the mediator deems necessary to understand the
issues of the case. The memorandum and/or information sheet and
other information produced to the mediator will not be made a part of
the file in this case and will be destroyed by the mediator at the
conclusion of the mediation proceeding.
4. All parties to this matter or their authorized representatives,
accompanied by their counsel, must appear and attend the
mediation proceeding. In accordance with the Supreme Court of
Texas’s Emergency Orders Regarding the Covid-19 State of
Disaster, the parties may elect to attend the mediation remotely by
teleconference or videoconference. The mediation shall be for a full
day.
5. Mediation is a mandatory, non-binding settlement conference
conducted with the assistance of a mediator. The mediation
proceeding will be confidential within the meaning of the Texas Civil
Practice and Remedies Code sections 154.053 and 154.073.
6. Unless otherwise agreed, the mediation proceeding will not be
recorded.
7. The mediator will negotiate a reasonable fee with the parties. The
mediator’s fee will be borne equally by the parties unless otherwise
agreed by the parties and will be paid directly to the mediator. If the
parties do not agree upon the fee requested by the mediator, the
court will set a reasonable fee, which shall be taxed as costs. Id.
§ 154.054.
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8. Within two days after the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator
shall certify to this Court as follows: (a) whether the parties appeared
as ordered; (b) whether the case settled; and (c) whether the
mediation fees were paid in accordance with the court’s order or as
otherwise agreed by the parties.
9. If mediation fully resolves the issues in this case, the parties must file
a joint or agreed motion seeking dispositive relief within fourteen
days of the conclusion of the mediation. If the parties need more time
to effectuate the terms of the settlement agreement, they must, within
fourteen days of the conclusion of mediation, file a joint or agreed
motion for an extension of time to file their disposition motion.
It is FURTHER ORDERED that this case is abated pending this Court’s review of
the mediator’s report and further order of this Court.
PER CURIAM
Delivered and filed the
10th day of March, 2022.
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