Rule 3.726.Stipulation to alternative dispute resolution

Rule 3.726 covers the narrow case where every party in the lawsuit wants to try mediation, arbitration, or another alternative dispute resolution process. When that unanimous agreement exists, the rule doesn’t leave it as an informal understanding between counsel — it requires the parties to put it in writing on the ADR stipulation form referenced in rule 3.221 and file that stipulation with the court.

That filing turns a private agreement into something the court can act on. It connects directly to the case management conference agenda in rule 3.727, which asks whether the parties have stipulated to arbitration or another ADR process and, if so, by when it must be completed, and to the case management order in rule 3.728, which can formally refer the case to that process and set a completion date. A joint stipulation under rule 3.726 requires unanimous agreement; short of that, the court still has its own authority to refer a case to ADR through the case management process.