Florida Rules for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators, Rule 10.420(b), Conduct of Mediation, Adjournment or Termination, provides that: A mediator shall:
(5) terminate any mediation if the physical safety of any person is endangered by the continuation of mediation.
What about the aftermath – i.e., what happens after the mediation conference? When does the mediator’s ethical obligation end? According to this sad article in The Mercury News, a husband lay in wait for his wife in an elevator after storming out of the mediation session. He allegedly continued the attack even as police arrived. The wife had been denied a restraining order against her husband two weeks before her death.
Do you have any concerns about mediator liability here? Please be careful!
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