Protection of Information Disclosed at Mediation

The mediator and the participants in mediation are prohibited from divulging, outside of the mediation, any oral or written information disclosed by the parties or by witnesses in the course of the mediation. No person may rely on or introduce as evidence in any arbitral, judicial, or other proceedings, 15 evidence pertaining to any aspect of the mediation effort, including but not limited to: (a) views expressed or suggestions made by a party with respect to a possible settlement of the dispute; (b) the fact that another party had or had not indicated willingness to accept a proposal for settlement made by the mediator; ( c proposals made or views expressed by the mediator; (d) statements or admissions made by a party in the course of the mediation; and (e) documents prepared for the purpose of, in the course of, or pursuant to the mediation. In addition, without limiting the foregoing, Rule 408 of the Federal Rules of Evidence and any applicable federal or state statute, rule, common law or judicial precedent relating to the privileged nature of settlement discussions, mediation or other alternative dispute resolution procedure shall apply. Information otherwise discoverable or admissible in evidence, however, does not become exempt from discovery, or inadmissible in evidence, merely by being used by a party in a mediation.