At a telephone status conference held on November 3, 2020, counsel for the parties indicated that the property at issue in this partition proceeding might be advantageously divided and that the assistance of a mediator might assist the parties in evaluating that alternative in the context of the current litigation. The court is also of the view that this case is one which well may be capable of being resolved by the parties, and which would benefit greatly by having a trained neutral serve as a mediator. To this end, the court exercises the authority vested in it to refer the case for mandatory mediation screening by a court-affiliated provider. If, following screening, the parties are not prepared to mediate or if, after engaging in mediation, the case is not resolved consensually, the case will be heard and determined by the court on the schedule adopted at the November 3, 2020 status conference.
Pursuant to Supreme Judicial Court Rule 1:18, "Uniform Rules on Dispute Resolution," the court enters the following order for referral of this case to one of the Land Court Department's court-connected dispute resolution services. It is
ORDERED that this case, Land Court Miscellaneous Case No. 20 MISC 000045 (JSDR), is REFERRED to:
REBA Dispute Resolution, Inc. [Note 1]
295 Devonshire Street
Floor 6
Boston, MA 02110-1266
(617) 854-7559,
one of the court's approved court-connected dispute resolution services, for a mediation screening. It is further
ORDERED that the parties contact REBA Dispute Resolution, Inc. (see note one) within one week of the issuance of this Order, and that they schedule a mediation screening to occur as soon as possible, and in no event later than December 15, 2020. The screening is to take place by this date with all parties and their counsel present, either in person or by videoconference, with a neutral on the panel of the mediation service provider. It is further
ORDERED that the parties promptly shall report to this court, in writing, the outcome of the mediation screening session. If the parties agree to proceed with mediation, or any other method of alternative dispute resolution, they shall schedule and participate in that session as soon as possible, and in any event not more than five weeks after the initial screening session, and shall at once advise the court in writing of the particulars of their session. If after participation in the mediation screening session the parties do not reach an agreement to proceed with alternative dispute resolution, or if they do, but are unable to settle their case, the parties are to notify the court in writing. The previously issued tracking orders and deadlines are not modified by this Order.
SO ORDERED.
MICHAEL PANELLA, BRIAN PANELLA and DAVID PANELLA, Trustees of the Michael J. Panella 1992 Trust, Petitioners, v. JEANNIE PANELLA BOLIO and DOUGLAS PANELLA, Trustees of VP Realty Trust, Respondents