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Where state law requires that court orders to mediate disputes be reduced to writing, a party failing to comply with an oral order to attend mediation might still be subject to sanction if the proper objection is not raised in a timely manner.
The District Court of Appeal of Florida held that the circuit court departed from the “essential requirements of the law by proceeding to order mediation, even though the court’s oral mediation order had not been reduced to writing as required by Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.710(b). Areizaga v. Board of County Commissioners of Hillsborough County, No. 2K05-471, 2006 WL 2355985 (Fla. App. 2 Dist., Aug. 16, 2006). Nonetheless, the Court found that sanctions against Areizaga, the party failing to attend, were appropriate because Areizaga failed to bring this technical error to the court’s attention, nor did he offer good cause for failing to attend the mediation session.
Areizaga argued that he had a medical appointment at the same time as the mediation, but was denied the opportunity to notify the circuit court of this time conflict. Although, according to the Court, mediation never should have been ordered in the first place, Areizaga was still required to comply with the circuit court’s oral order. Having failed to do so, the circuit court properly sanctioned Areizaga under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.720(b), but he would not be further required to attend mediation.
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