Comments Invited Following MEAC Rule Change

The Supreme Court of Florida recently adopted its Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Policy Committee's proposed amendments to Rule 10.910 of the Florida Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators regarding composition of the Mediator Ethics Advisory Committee (MEAC). The Committee’s petition follows another recent opinion adopting changes, In re: amendments to the Florida Rules for Certified & Court-Appointed Mediators, 202 So. 3d 795 (Fla. 2016). New Rule 10.910(b) (Appointment) provides membership of MEAC shall be composed of nine members, two from each of the four divisions of the Mediator Qualifications and Discipline Review Board (MQDRB), and one member from any of the four divisions. Additionally, Rule 10.910(c) (Membership and Terms) now requires that the membership of MEAC shall include one county mediator, one family mediator, one circuit mediator, one dependency mediator, one appellate mediator, and four additional mediators who hold any type of Florida Supreme Court mediator certification. Finally, Rule 10.910(e) (Opinions) is amended to allow the Dispute Resolution Center greater latitude in publishing advisory opinions of MEAC. Because the amendments to Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators are effective immediately and were not published for comment prior to their adoption by the court, interested persons must now file any comments with the court on or before August 21, 2017, as well as a separate request for oral argument if the person filing the comment wishes to participate in oral argument, which may be scheduled in this case. The Committee Chair then has until September 11, 2017, to file a response to any comments filed with the court. See full opinion here-- http://www.floridasupremecourt.org/decisions/2017/sc17-935.pdf