Location
Supreme Court, Bronx County
851 Grand Concourse
Bronx, NY 10451
Important
The Chief Judge's Task Force on Commercial Litigation in the 21st Century - Report
Operational Info
Uniform Standards for Assignment of Cases & Rules of Practice (22 NYCRR 202.70)
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program Info
The Bronx County Commercial Division’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Program uses mediators who are members of the Court’s Statewide Mediator Directory and the 12th Judicial District’s mediation roster. They are attorneys and have significant commercial law experience. The ADR Program is essentially a mediation program. Mediators meet with parties and their attorneys in Commercial Division cases, review the facts and legal issues in the case, and facilitate discussions between the parties and attorneys regarding settlement.
Cases are referred to the ADR Program by court order. The Commercial Division Justice decides which cases are referred and when. Generally, it is preferred to refer cases early so settlement can be discussed before the parties have spent time and money in the discovery process. Parties can request a referral to the program, and the court will consider the request.
When a referral order is issued, the parties must participate in the ADR Program according to the Rules and Procedures of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Program of the Commercial Division (ADR Rules), but settlement is purely voluntary.
All mediators on the court’s roster must have mediation training [see the Guidelines in Part 146 of the Rules of the Chief Administrative Judge], but the Bronx County Commercial Division’s ADR Program only uses those mediators who are attorneys and have significant commercial law experience. To view the mediators on our roster:
- Go to the Statewide Mediator Directory
- Select “12th Judicial District”
- Select “Bronx County Supreme Commercial/Personal Injury” in the Available Rosters list
- Select the View Roster button
Under the ADR Rules, a mediator is assigned from the court’s roster by the ADR Coordinator, but the parties have the right to choose a different one.
The referral order will indicate when the first ADR session must take place, and the process finishes when the mediator provides a final report to the court. The case is not stayed during the mediation process unless the court specifically orders it, which happens very rarely. Under the ADR rules, parties are not required to give the mediator a memorandum with their opinions regarding the facts and issues in the case, contentions, and suggestions for settlement unless the mediator specifically requests it, but it is strongly recommended that the parties do so.
The assigned mediator will contact the parties and attorneys by phone to schedule mediation sessions and will review any submissions required by the ADR Rules. At a minimum, all parties and attorneys must attend the first 90 minutes of the ADR session. The mediator will first discuss the facts, issues, and positions of all parties in a joint session. The mediator may then meet separately with each party and their attorney in "caucuses," which allows the mediator to hear each party’s demands and reactions to the joint discussions. The ADR Rules allow additional ADR sessions if the issues are not resolved at the first session.
Mediation is confidential. The ADR Rules do not allow ADR Program communications to be disclosed outside of the ADR process. The mediator cannot testify at a hearing or trial about what happened during the mediation. This confidentiality is intended to promote open and honest discussion and to ensure nothing a party says during mediation will adversely affect a party's court case if it is not settled.
The first 90 minutes of the initial ADR session are free. The mediator's time preparing for ADR sessions is also free. If the initial ADR session is more than 90 minutes or if additional sessions are held, the parties must pay the mediator at the rate that was agreed upon in writing beforehand per the ADR Rules.
Certification Relating to ADR
In January 2018, Commercial Division Rules 10 and 11 were amended requiring counsel for any party in a Commercial Division case to serve, file, submit at the preliminary conference, and submit at each compliance conference a certification that counsel has discussed the availability of the Commercial Division’s ADR Program and/or private providers with their client and indicating whether the party is presently willing to pursue mediation at some point during the litigation. The preliminary conference order must contain, as appropriate, ways to achieve early settlement of the case such as ADR, and if counsel has certified that their client is willing to mediate, a specific deadline to propose a mediator.
ADR Program Rules & Procedures