Willow Park Condominiums - Forms Documents & Notices

Forms, Documents & Notices

Willow Park Condominium Association, Inc.
(the "Association")
Policy Resolution No. 1
Regarding Alternative Dispute Resolution

II. Mediation Option

6. The formal mediation process may be initiated upon the written request of all parties to the Dispute or unilaterally by an individual Unit Owner, if the Association is a party to the Dispute (the "Request for Mediation"), the form of which shall be provided by the Association. The Request for Mediation shall contain a brief statement generally setting forth the source and nature of the Dispute. The Request shall be accompanied with a deposit in the amount of $50.00 in case of a mediation by a member of the ADR Committee or $200.00 in the case of any other qualified mediator. Said deposit shall be held in escrow by the Association's managing agent ("Escrow Agent") and applied against all costs of the mediation, including, but not limited to, the fees of the mediator, if any. The Escrow Agent shall be entitled to release the funds as directed by the mediator, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing. Failure to tender the deposit with the Request for Mediation shall result in a rejection of the Request for Mediation by the Association.

7. The mediation shall be conducted in accordance with the Mediation Rules of the American Arbitration Association (the "AAA") then in effect, and as modified by this Resolution. The mediator shall be a member of the ADR Committee or any other qualified mediator who is mutually acceptable to the parties or designated by the Chairperson of the ADR Committee if the parties cannot agree.

8. Promptly upon receipt of a Request for Mediation, together with the appropriate fee, the Association shall provide the parties with the names and resumes of (i) those members of the ADR Committee who are available to mediate the Dispute or (ii) three impartial persons from a list of impartial persons maintained by the Association and who would qualify as a mediator. If a member of the ADR Committee is not acceptable to all parties, the parties (i) shall attempt to select a mediator from the other names provided, or (ii) may agree on another person to act as mediator. If they are unable to agree on a mediator within five (5) days of the date of the Request for Mediation, the mediator shall be selected by the Chairperson of the ADR Committee. In the event of a Dispute between the Association and a Unit Owner, only the Unit Owner shall have the right to choose the mediator form the members of the ADR Committee or the other names provided. In all cases, the appropriate fee shall be paid to the Association prior to the appointment of the mediator.

9. Each party to the mediation may prepare and submit to the mediator, no later than 48 hours prior to the time scheduled for the mediation session contemplated by Paragraph 10, a written statement setting forth in ordinary and concise language the acts or omissions from which the Dispute arose (the "Position Statement"). The Position Statement should specify the specific provisions of the Condominium Documents which have been violated and/or the party's defense to the alleged violations. The Position Statement shall not (i) exceed three (3) type-written pages, (ii) be construed as a pleading nor (iii) limit the evidence the parties may later use in arbitration proceeding or at a civil trial, if mediation does not result in settlement. No responsive or supplemental statements shall be permitted.

10. Within five business (5) days after the mediator has been selected, both parties and their respective attorneys, if any, shall meet with the mediator for one mediation session of not more than four (4) hours. If the Dispute cannot be settled at such mediation session, or at any mutually agreed upon continuation thereof, the mediator may terminate the mediation at its sole discretion or any party may give written notice to the others and the mediator declaring the mediation process at the end, in which event the Dispute shall be promptly referred to the ADR Committee for a hearing and decision pursuant to the applicable Condominium Documents.

11. The mediator shall manage the mediation proceedings as the mediator deems best so as to make the mediation expeditious, economical and less burdensome than arbitration or litigation. The mediator shall be responsible for controlling the procedural aspects of the mediation proceedings. The mediator shall not have the authority to impose a settlement on the parties, but may make recommendations for settlement and assist the parties in trying to reach a satisfactory resolution of the Dispute.

12. If the parties agree to settle the Dispute as part of the mediation proceeding, such settlement shall be memorialized in a written agreement, signed at the conclusion of the mediation by each of the parties to the mediation (the "Settlement Agreement").

13. Mediation proceedings shall be conducted in private. Only the parties, their representatives and the mediator shall attend the proceedings. Other persons may attend only upon the express consent of the parties and the mediator. All proceedings of, or writings generated in connection with, the mediation conference, including the Position Statement, Settlement Agreement, mediator's settlement recommendations, and any statement made by any party, attorney or other participant, shall in all respects be considered as part of the settlement efforts and therefore privileged and non-admissible in a court of law or arbitration, and nothing said or disclosed, nor any document produced, which is not otherwise independently discoverable, shall be offered or received as evidence or used for impeachment of for any other purpose in any current or future arbitration proceedings or litigation, except that any party shall have the right to enforce the Settlement Agreement in accordance with its terms.

14. All costs of the mediation, including, without limitation, the fees of the mediator, if any, shall be shared equally by the parties to the Dispute. Should the escrow deposit be insufficient for this purpose, the parties shall deposit an additional sum with the Escrow Agent in an amount sufficient to cover the additional costs of the mediation.

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