A new amendment signed by the Governor will set new mediation disclosure and acknowledgement requirements in California. Effective January 1, 2019, SB 954 requires attorneys to provide consumers with a disclosure explaining the confidentiality restrictions in mediation.
Under existing law, anything said during a mediation consultation or during the mediation is not admissible in evidence nor subject to discovery, and all communications, negotiations, and settlement discussions by and between participants or mediators are confidential, except as specified.
SB 954, signed by the Governor on September 11, 2018, amends Section 1122 of the California Evidence Code and adds Section 1129, requiring attorneys representing a person participating in a mediation or a mediation consultation to provide his or her client with a printed disclosure containing the confidentiality restrictions related to mediation, and contains specified language compliant with the form of disclose that attorneys are required to make to their clients. Attorneys are to obtain a printed acknowledgment signed by that client stating that he or she has read and understands the confidentiality restrictions.
For more information or to request a consultation please contact the law offices of SBEMP (Slovak, Baron, Empey, Murphy & Pinkney) by clicking here.
SBEMP LLP is a full service law firm with attorney offices in Palm Springs (Palm Desert, Inland Empire, Rancho Mirage), CA; Costa Mesa (Orange County), CA; San Diego, CA; Princeston, NJ; and New York, NY.
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