Court's ADR committee floats proposals aimed at increasing the use of alternative dispute resolution.

The Florida Supreme Court Committee on Alternative Dispute Resolution Rules and Policy has been working on a proposal to increase the use of alternative dispute resolution.

As part of this project, the committee has been examining ways to broaden the variety of ADR processes available and make them more attractive to use. To date, the use of mediation by litigants in the state court system in Florida far eclipses any other alternative process. While mediation likely is the best option for most of these litigants, there are other effective ADR methods which parties might prefer to utilize in certain cases, according to the committee.

Additional processes under discussion by the committee for inclusion in the Rules of Civil Procedure include arbitration, mini-trial, neutral evaluation, summary jury trial, and "other processes as agreed to by the parties." In addition, other forms of ADR, including possibly parenting coordination, are also being considered for the rules governing ADR in F.S. [section]39 and [section]61 cases.

There are many possible reasons why other processes are utilized less frequently, but certainly one is the lack of clear procedures and infrastructure, according to the committee. To address this concern, the ADR Rules and Policy Committee has developed a draft core set of procedural rules which would govern ADR processes if utilized by litigants in a court proceeding upon their own initiative or...