Fill and Sign the An Evaluation of the Family Court Pilot Ncjrs Form

STATE OF MICHIGAN IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE COUNTY OF ____________________ _____________________________, Plaintiff, v File No. ________________ HON. _________________________ ______________________________, Defendant, __________________________ Attorney for Plaintiff __________________________ Attorney for Defendant "DOMESTIC RELATIONS" SCHEDULING CONFERENCE ORDER A Scheduling Conference was conducted in this matter on _______________, and the parties, through their counsel, having had the opportunity to participate through their written submissions, and the Court being fully advised in the premises; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED: THE ISSUES TO BE DECIDED ARE: ___ Real Property Division ___ Alimony ___Permanent ___ Temporary ___ Pension ___ Wife ___ Other ___ Husband Debt allocation ___________________________________________ _______ Personal Property Division APPRAISALS All necessary appraisals of real and personal property, including pension values, shall be completed in writing and exchanged between the parties not later than _______________________________. WITNESSES AND EXHIBITS Counsel shall file a list of witnesses and exhibits and exchange copies of exhibits not later than ______________________ . Witnesses or exhibits not under the control of a party and which become known or made available to a party t hrough the discovery process may be later added so long as the disclosure is prompt and no prejudice is shown. Failure to comply with this paragraph will bar the introduction of the evidence or testimony at trial. DISCOVERY All discovery shall conclude on _______________________. MEDIATION This Court, in its efforts to streamline the Court docket and promote cost -effective, timely alternative dispute resolution, diverts this case to other resources. The parties are to seek and participate in facilitative mediation as a means of resolving this conflict. MCL 691.1556(2); MSA 27.15(56)(2). A listing of domestic relations facilitative mediators is enclosed with this Order. Questions about this process are to be directed to this Court's Mediation Clerk, ____________________, ______________________, __________________, _____________, _________________. Except for good cause shown, within 14 days of the date of this Order, Plaintiff's attorney (or Plaintiff, if unrepresented) shall : 1) initiate contact with all other counsel (or other party, if unrepresented) to jointly choose one mediator from the list enclosed with this Order; and 2) notify the Mediation Clerk as to the mediator who has been selected to mediate the case, (In the event the parties are unable to reach agreement of a mediator within 14 days, the Mediation Clerk will then select a mediator and notify the parties of the mediator selected. The mediator will then confer with the parties and notify the Mediation Clerk of the date scheduled for mediation); and 3) notify the Mediation Clerk in writing of the date and time set for the facilitative mediation session(s); and 4) provide a copy of this Domestic Relations Scheduling Conference Order to the selected mediator prior to the mediation session. The facilitative mediation is to be completed prior to ____________________. Each party and person with authority to settle MUST attend the facilitative m ediation and each party shall pay any required fees to the person or entity which mediates this case. The mediator is responsible for notifying the Mediation Clerk as to the outcome of the mediation session. Plaintiff shall mail a copy of a signed property settlement agreement reached at the mediation session(s) to the Mediation Clerk within 10 days after the final facilitative mediation session and request a pro confesso hearing date. In the event that unresolved issues remain at the conclusion of the medi ation session(s), counsel for each party or the parties, if unrepresented, within 10 days after the final facilitative mediation session, shall send to the Mediation Clerk an original document entitled POST FACILITATIVE MEDIATION REPORT OF UNRESOLVED ISSUE S describing the reasons why facilitative mediation was not successful. This report shall consist of a thorough analysis of the issues discussed; those issues resolved and those issues pending and the efforts to resolve them. These reports remain confident ial and will not be reviewed by the trial court until trial proceedings are concluded. It is intended that such reports will assist the Court in making the facilitative mediation experience more meaningful for other parties in the future. MOTIONS All mot ions shall be HEARD PRIOR to the day of the final Pre -Trial/Settlement Conference and shall strictly comply with MCR 2.119, including responses; otherwise, they will be considered untimely. Working copies of all motions and briefs --in support of and in opp osition to --shall be forwarded to Honorable , Circuit Judge, ________________ County Courthouse, ___________________, ____________, ______________. FINAL PRE -TRIAL/SETTLEMENT CONFERENCE Scheduled for __________________ in the Court's chambers in __________________ . A Final Pre -Trial/Settlement Conference Notice will be forwarded by the Court Administrator. At this Conference, counsel will tender to the Court their TRIAL BRIEFS and MARK - ED TRIAL EXHIBITS, STIPULATED FACTS and PROPOSED FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW. Settlement will be fully explored at this Conference. TRIAL counsel and each party SHALL be present. Unless counsel have submitted to the Court Administrator an execu ted Judgment, approved by the Friend of the Court, if applicable, PRIOR to the Final Settlement Conference, counsel who believe the case has been settled shall nevertheless attend the Final Settlement Conference with their clients for purposes of placing t he settlement on the record or completing the conference. Failure to comply with every requirement of this conference paragraph will result in a default or a dismissal as may be appropriate against the offending party or attorney and an award of sanctions to each non -offending party. TRIAL DATE : TO BE SCHEDULED IN Estimated length of trial __________ (___) – day(s). A trial notice will be forwarded by the Court Administrator. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that NO adjournments sha ll be allowed. Any objections to this Order shall be filed within seven (7) days from the date hereof or be deemed waived. ___________________________ HONORABLE ______________________ Circuit Court Judge Dated: ______________________________