Jeld-Wen, Inc. v. Superior Court

In this case we hold that trial courts do not have the authority to order parties in a complex civil action to attend and pay for private mediation.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Jeld-Wen, Inc., is an uninsured cross-defendant in this multiparty construction defect case involving over $500,000 in alleged costs of repair. The trial court proposed a case management order (the order) that, among other things, deemed the matter to be complex within the meaning of standard 3.10 of the California Standards of Judicial Administration for Complex Litigation and appointed an individual as the “Mediator and/or MSC [Mandatory Settlement Conference] Judge” under Code of Civil Procedure section 187 to mediate and conduct settlement conferences for a maximum of 100 hours at an hourly rate of $500. (All undesignated statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.) The order stated that no party had established an economic inability to pay a pro rata share of the mediator’s fee and provided deadlines to demand and conduct the mediation. Unless excused by the court or the mediator, all parties were to appear at the mediation with their insurance representatives or other…