| SUPERIOR COURT Alternative Dispute Resolution |
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| Guidelines for Superior Court Neutral Assessment | |||||
 Neutral Assessment Forms (Forms are sample format; not required Court forms.) |
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| Neutral Assessment Process |
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| The Neutral Assessor |
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| Neutral Assessment Hearing |
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The ADR provides parties with multiple options to litigation pursuant
to Superior Court Civil Rule 16. Neutral assessment is
a process through which the parties may obtain an expert
and neutral evaluation of the merits of their respective
cases at the very initial stage of a dispute. The assessment
intends to restore or facilitate communication between the
parties on the basis of an independent analysis and recommendations
obtained through a highly specialized neutral analysis of
each particular dispute submitted to this process. |
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| Neutral Assessment Process | |||||
 Compulsory Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) allows
the format of ADR to be agreed upon by the parties. If the parties cannot agree on the ADR format, the default format
shall be mediation unless otherwise ordered by the Court. Participation in neutral assessment is voluntary. At initial
filing, you may select Neutral Assessment on the Civil
Case Information Statement (CIS). The neutral assessment
outcome is binding only by mutual consent of the parties.
Participants use an independent, neutral assessor to help
evaluate and assess each side's position and chances for success. |
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| A neutral assessor may be selected from the approved Neutral
Assessors Directory by agreement of the parties with a Stipulation signed and filed with the Court not later than ten (10) business
days after the civil action is referred to ADR. The Court
will select the neutral assessor from the approved list if
a stipulation is not filed. |
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| Once neutral assessment has been agreed upon, all
parties, including at least one attorney for each represented
party must be present at the neutral assessment hearing. |
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| Sanctions may be imposed for failure to participate in good
faith. |
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| The neutral assessor should schedule a brief joint teleconference
with counsel before the neutral assessment session to discuss
matters such as the scheduling, the procedures to be followed,
the nature of the case, and which client representatives will
attend. An additional brief teleconference may be required
after the written Neutral Assessment Hearing Statements are
submitted. |
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| The parties are each required to serve upon the neutral assessor
a confidential Neutral
Assessment Hearing Statement ten (10) days prior to the
scheduled neutral assessment hearing. |
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| The Neutral Assessor | |||||
| A neutral assessor is an impartial, expert
professional who hears the controversy between the parties,
and who offers a report containing her/his evaluation of the
merits of the parties' respective cases as well as a recommendation
for a settlement. |
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| Our active neutral assessors are members of the Delaware Bar
registered with and approved by the ADR Section of The Delaware
State Bar Association in conjunction with the Court. |
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| The neutral assessor will either be appointed by the Court
or agreed upon by the parties from the approved Neutral
Assessors Directory. |
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| The parties to the neutral assessment pay the neutral assessor directly. |
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| Neutral Assessment Hearing | |||||
| The parties and their counsel, in a confidential session (unless
otherwise stipulated in writing), present summaries of their
cases and receive a non-binding evaluation by an experienced
neutral attorney with subject matter expertise. Where appropriate,
and following completion of the evaluation process, the neutral
assessor may also help identify areas of agreement, provide
case-planning guidance and, if requested by the parties, offer
settlement assistance. |
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| During the course of this process or in the hearing itself,
the parties may come close to a negotiated settlement. The
neutral assessor may then ask the parties if they would like
to try to mediate their dispute. This may happen either before
or after the neutral assessor has rendered her/his decision.
Of course, all parties would have to agree to the shift in
the role of the neutral assessor. |
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| If the parties reach a settlement, the Neutral
Assessor's Report must be filed with the Prothonotary.
The neutral assessor also must serve copies of the Neutral
Assessor's Report to each of the parties. |
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| If the parties
do not reach a settlement, the neutral assessor must file
with the Prothonotary a Neutral
Assessor's Report. The neutral assessor also must
serve copies of the Neutral Assessor's Report to each of the
parties, advising that the neutral assessment was not successful
and the action will proceed as though a written demand for
a trial de novo was filed by a party. |
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