EVGENIA MAKKAS, Plaintiff v. KENNETH WHALEN, Defendant

On September 14, 2020, Plaintiff Evgenia Makkas and Defendant Kenneth Whalen appeared for a case management conference via zoom. Following the conference, counsel for Evgenia Makkas and Mr. Whalen, who appeared pro se, agreed that the case may be suitable for mediation. This court is convinced that this case may be capable of being resolved by the parties, and that the parties 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 and encourages the parties to mediate by zoom during the pandemic. If, following screening, the parties are not prepared to mediate, or if after engaging in mediation, the case is not resolved consensually, the court will hear and determine the case.

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 2020 MISC 000268 (DRR), is

REFERRED for a mediation screening to

REBA Dispute Resolution, Inc.

295 Devonshire Street

Sixth Floor

Boston, MA 02110

(617) 854-7555

adr@reba.net

one of the court's approved court-connected dispute resolution services. [Note 1] It is further

ORDERED that the parties contact REBA Dispute Resolution, Inc. (or the provider chosen pursuant to footnote one) to schedule a mediation screening that is to occur as soon as possible, and in no event later than October 30, 2020. The screening is to take place with all parties and their counsel personally present with a neutral on the panel of the mediation service provider. It is further

ORDERED that the parties shall promptly report to the court, in writing, the outcome of the screening session by November 4, 2020. If the parties agree to proceed with alternative dispute resolution, they shall schedule and participate in that session as soon as possible, and shall immediately advise the court in writing of the particulars of their session. If, after participating in the screening session, the parties do not wish 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.

SO ORDERED