RULE 8. MEDIATOR CERTIFICATION AND DECERTIFICATION.
(a) Party Selection. The parties may select any Dispute Resolution Commission-certified mediator as their mediator by mutual consent, with or without the qualifications in (b); provided, that the Commission may, for good cause, bar any persons from holding themselves out as a mediator of cases within its jurisdiction or from receiving a fee for mediation of such cases.
(b) Appointment of Mediators. If parties have agreed or been ordered to mediate, and cannot agree on the selection of a mediator, the Commission shall appoint a mediator from a list of persons who hold current certification from the Dispute Resolution Commission that they are qualified to carry out mandatory mediations in the Superior Courts of the State, and who have filed a declaration with the Commission, on forms provided by it, stating that:
1. If an attorney, that declarant remains a member in good standing of the North Carolina State Bar;
2. The declarant agrees to accept and perform mediations of disputes before the Commission with reasonable frequency when called upon for the fees and at the rates of payment specified by the Commission;
3. If the declarant desires to be appointed by the Commission to mediate workers’ compensation cases, that he or she has completed N.C. State Bar approved continuing legal education course(s) on workers’ compensation law during the previous two years totaling not less than six hours.
A mediator making such declaration shall immediately notify the Commission when any of the facts declared are no longer accurate. The Commission may require a new declaration on a periodic or intermittent basis. The Commission shall delete from such lists any mediator whose certification from the Dispute Resolution Commission has expired or been revoked. The Commission may charge an administrative fee to defray the costs of maintaining said lists and referring cases to mediators.
(c) Mediator Lists. The Commission may maintain and provide to parties separate lists of mediators who have successfully completed mediation training certified by the Dispute Resolution Commission, and who desire to hold mediations in disputes arising under the Workers’ Compensation Act and the State Tort Claims Act.
(d) Failure of Mediator to Appear at Conference. In the event that a mediator fails to appear at a scheduled mediation conference without good cause the mediator shall not be entitled to the administrative fee for the case and may be deleted from the Commission’s list of mediators qualified for appointments for a period of six months.
Go to Rules for Mediated Settlement and Neutral Evaluation Conferences Page