Innovative Bankruptcy Mediation Program Goes Live
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The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey launched an ambitious presumptive mediation program on May 1, 2014. The genesis of the new mediation program was an evaluation of the preexisting mediation program, which was found to be rarely, if ever, used. The hope of the new program is that, by making mediation presumptive for all adversary proceedings, mediation will be utilized extensively to benefit litigants and the court through swifter, less costly resolution. The program is also available for any contested matter, such as a motion or confirmation of a plan of reorganization. Following are details about the new mediation program’s implementation and focus. For more information, see the Bankruptcy Court’s website www.njb.uscourts.gov.
First Steps Toward the Presumptive Mediation Program
Chief Judge Gloria M. Burns entered a “General Order Adopting Mediation Program Pending Adoption and Amendment of Local Rules” on Nov. 20, 2013. A Notice to the Bar and Public was provided by the clerk and posted on the Bankruptcy Court’s website on Nov. 21, 2013. It set forth a schedule for implementation of the presumptive mediation program that initially envisioned a start date of April 1, 2014. That date was later extended to May 1, 2014. Prior to the effective date of the program, the Bankruptcy Court undertook to establish and train a roster of mediators and to inform the bar about the impending implementation of the mediation program. The previous register of mediators was dissolved.
The preamble to the General Order states: “By resolution of the Board of Judges of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, it is determined that a comprehensive, Court-supervised mediation program may facilitate resolution of contested matters and adversary proceedings for debtors, creditors and parties in interest.” For several years, the judges of the Bankruptcy Court had been evaluating the pre-existing mediation program and determined that it was rarely, if ever, used and had become moribund. The clerk of the Bankruptcy Court surveyed the bar and found there was overwhelming support for mediation in adversary proceedings. In order to make the new program successful, the court determined to make mediation presumptive for all adversary proceedings in the hope that mediation would be utilized extensively to benefit litigants and the court by engendering swifter, less costly resolution. The program is also available for any contested matter, such as a motion or confirmation of a plan of reorganization.
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