Mediation In the event of any dispute arising under or in connection with this Agreement, before either party may initiate arbitration pursuant to Section 5.2 below, ICANN and Registry Operator must attempt to resolve the dispute through mediation in accordance with the following terms and conditions:
(a) A party shall submit a dispute to mediation by written notice to the other party. The mediation shall be conducted by a single mediator selected by the parties. If the parties cannot agree on a mediator within fifteen (15) calendar days of delivery of written notice pursuant to this Section 5.1, the parties will promptly select a mutually acceptable mediation provider entity, which entity shall, as soon as practicable following such entity’s selection, designate a mediator, who is a licensed attorney with general knowledge of contract law, has no ongoing business relationship with either party and, to the extent necessary to mediate the particular dispute, general knowledge of the domain name system. Any mediator must confirm in writing that he or she is not, and will not become during the term of the mediation, an employee, partner, executive officer, director, or security holder of ICANN or Registry Operator. If such confirmation is not provided by the appointed mediator, then a replacement mediator shall be appointed pursuant to this Section 5.1(a).
(b) The mediator shall conduct the mediation in accordance with the rules and procedures that he or she determines following consultation with the parties. The parties shall discuss the dispute in good faith and attempt, with the mediator’s assistance, to reach an amicable resolution of the dispute. The mediation shall be treated as a settlement discussion and shall therefore be confidential and may not be used against either party in any later proceeding relating to the dispute, including any arbitration pursuant to Section 5.2. The mediator may not testify for either party in any later proceeding relating to the dispute.
(c) Each party shall bear its own costs in the mediation. The parties shall share equally the fees and expenses of the mediator. Each party shall treat information received from the other party pursuant to the mediation that is appropriately marked as confidential (as required by Section 7.15) as Confidential Information of such other party in accordance with Section 7.15.
(d) If the parties have engaged in good faith participation in the mediation but have not resolved the dispute for any reason, either party or the mediator may terminate the mediation at any time and the dispute can then proceed to arbitration pursuant to Section 5.2 below. If the parties have not resolved the dispute for any reason by the date that is ninety (90) calendar days following the date of the notice delivered pursuant to Section 5.1(a), the mediation shall automatically terminate (unless extended by agreement of the parties) and the dispute can then proceed to arbitration pursuant to Section 5.2 below.
Mediation Process A. Mediation is a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) that may be requested by the City or the PBA. It is an alternative, not a substitute for the formal arbitration process contained in Section 19.8 above. Mediation is an informal process in which a neutral third party assists the opposing parties in reaching a voluntary, negotiated resolution of a charge of discipline. The decision to mediate is completely voluntary for the PBA and the City. Mediation gives the parties the opportunity to discuss the issues raised in the charging document, clear up misunderstandings, determine the underlying interests or concerns, find areas of agreement and, ultimately, incorporate those areas of agreement into solutions. A mediator does not resolve the charge or impose a decision on the parties. Instead, the mediator helps the parties to agree on a mutually acceptable resolution. The mediation process is strictly confidential. Information disclosed during mediation will not be revealed to anyone.
B. If both parties agree, a mediation session conducted by a trained and experienced mediator shall be scheduled at a mutually convenient date and time. Either party may choose to have an attorney represent them during mediation. Persons attending the mediation session shall have the authority to resolve the dispute. If mediation is unsuccessful, the parties may proceed to follow the provisions for Arbitration. Information disclosed during mediation will not be revealed to anyone.
C. The parties and, if they desire, their representatives and/or attorneys, are invited to attend a mediation session. No one else may attend without the permission of the parties and the consent of the mediator(s).
D. The mediator(s) will not function as the representative of either party. However, the mediator(s) may assist the parties in understanding their rights and the terms of any proposed settlement agreement. Each party acknowledges being advised to seek independent legal review prior to signing any settlement agreement.
E. The parties acknowledge that the mediator(s) possesses the discretion to terminate the mediation at any time of any impasse occurs or either party or the mediator deems the case inappropriate for mediation.
F. Prior to mediation, both the City and the PBA (or Employee, only in disciplinary matters) shall enter into a confidentiality agreement, as follows:
1. This is an agreement by the parties to participate in a mediation involving the City against the above named employee. The parties understand that mediation is a voluntary process, which may be terminated at any time.
2. The parties agree to participate voluntarily in mediation in an effort to resolve the charge(s) filed by the City.
3. The parties agree that all matters discussed during the mediation are confidential, unless otherwise discoverable, and cannot be used as evidence in any subsequent administrative or judicial proceeding. Confidentiality, however, will not extend to threats of imminent physical harm or incidents of actual violence that occur during the mediation.
4. Any communications between the mediator(s) and/or the parties are considered dispute resolution communications with a neutral and will be kept confidential.
5. The parties agree not to subpoena the mediator(s) or compel the mediator(s) to produce any documents provided by a party in any pending or future administrative or judicial proceeding. The mediator(s) will not voluntarily testify on behalf of a party in any pending or future administrative or judicial proceeding. The parties further agree that the mediator(s) will be held harmless for any claim arising from the mediation process.
6. The parties recognize and agree that the City is subject to Chapter 119, Fla. Stat., relating to public documents. Therefore, all information including all notes, records, or documents generated during the course of the mediation shall be subject to the exemption contained in Section 119.071 (d)(1), Fla. Stats., until the settlement of the matter, or the conclusion of the arbitration, if any, with the exception of the personal notes of the mediator.
7. If a settlement is reached by all the parties, the agreement shall be reduced to writing and when signed shall be binding upon all parties to the agreement, unless the agreement requires City Commission approval, in which case the agreement will not become binding until publicly approved by the City Commission. Said agreement shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 119, Fla. Stats. If the charge(s) is not resolved through mediation, the parties may proceed to follow the provisions for arbitration.
