Small Claims ODR Pilot Begins

The Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida begins its free Small Claims Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) program this month in Orange County. If both parties provide an email address on file with the court in a case that qualifies for ODR, the court will notify them of the availability to use ODR to resolve the case. The email will also provide instructions on how to register with the Online Dispute Resolution Center located at the custom domain found here-- https://flcourts09sc.modria.com. There, the plaintiff will answer some questions about the case. The court will then send the defendant an email. The defendant should review the information and provide a response. If a solution can't be found with the other person, either can ask for help from a real mediator (Surprise, AI not quite the end-all be-all yet!). A mediator is a certified specialist trained to help litigants in County Court reach a resolution. There is no longer a need to appear for a Pretrial Conference Mediation date if the parties reach a signed agreement using the Online Resolution Center. Timeliness matters in this process which must be completed at least 10 calendar days before the Pretrial Conference Mediation date. If parties do not complete the process by the deadline, they will need to appear for the assigned Pretrial Conference Mediation date. This process comes about via the court being an existing licensee of software like Odyssey from Tyler Technologies. Specifically, they are allowing the use and integration of Modria, which has a demonstrated record of resolving small dollar consumer cases in online commerce. I spoke to representatives of the public company last year and they plan to expand in other jurisdictions. See more here-- ow.ly/yJ5w50zu80h and https://tinyurl.com/yafdrm63