Written Mediation Statements (a) Time for Submission. No later than 7 days before the first Mediation session, unless otherwise directed by the mediator, each party must submit directly to the mediato

(b) Prohibition Against Filing. The statements constitute confidential information as defined in ADR L.R. 6-12, must not be filed and the assigned Judge shall not have access to them. (c) Content of Statement. The statements must be concise, may include any information that may be useful to the mediator, and must, unless otherwise directed by the mediator: (1) Identify, by name and title or status: (A) The person(s) with decision-making authority, who, in addition to counsel, will attend the Mediation as representative(s) of the party, and (B) Persons connected with a party opponent (including an insurer representative) whose presence might substantially improve the utility of the Mediation or the prospects for settlement; USDC ADR Local Rules – Effective May 1, 2018 ADR-18 (2) Describe briefly the substance of the suit, addressing the party’s views of the key liability issues and damages and discussing the key evidence; (3) Identify the discovery or motions that promise to contribute most to equipping the parties for meaningful settlement negotiations; (4) Except to the extent prohibited by applicable laws of privilege or by these local rules, describe the history and current status of any settlement negotiations; (5) Provide additional information about any needs, interests or other considerations not described elsewhere in the statement that might be pertinent to settlement; and (6) Include copies of documents likely to make the Mediation more productive or to materially advance settlement prospects.

Commentary Ordinarily, parties should be able to include in their Mediation statements a description of the history and status of any settlement negotiations. An exception may exist for negotiations held during a prior Mediation or ENE session, if all parties do not agree to the disclosure of these negotiations. See ADR L.R. 5-12 and 6-12. Such prohibitions are distinct from rules prohibiting the admission into evidence of settlement offers and demands which ordinarily would not prevent inclusion of the settlement history in a Mediation statement.

See, e.g., Fed. R. Evid. 408.