Western District of Tennessee
IN BRIEF
Process summary
ADR generally.
In the Western District of Tennessee, the CJRA plan, effective December 1, 1991, directs judges to review ADR suitability on a case-by-case basis at initial case management conferences. The court authorizes minitrials, summary jury and bench trials, and mediation by magistrate judges, retired judges, and attorneys. Court policy is to make early and repeated efforts to settle cases.
Judicial settlement conferences.
The court relies heavily on settlement conferences, which may be conducted by the assigned judge, a magistrate judge, or another district judge who agrees to conduct a settlement conference at the request of the assigned judge.
Of note
Plans.
The district's CJRA plan recommends adoption of an early neutral evaluation program, but the program has not been implemented. The CJRA advisory committee recommended two ENE formats. In the open format, parties would present their case in each other's presence and the evaluator would assess liability and the case's value, attempt to facilitate settlement discussions, and, in some cases, define the issues and streamline discovery. The other format contemplates no joint meetings or sharing of information between the parties. Although the ENE proposal has been fully developed, the court has not implemented it and is considering adopting a mediation program instead.
Evaluation.
As one of the ten pilot courts established by the CJRA, the Western District of Tennessee is part of the RAND study of the pilot and comparison districts, which will be reported to Congress by the Judicial Conference in 1996.
For more information
Robert R. Ditrolio, Clerk of Court, 901-544-4486
Excerpted from
ADR and Settlement in the Federal District Courts: A Sourcebook for Judges & Lawyers, 1996,
a publication of the Federal Judicial Center and CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution