Rule 3.845.Form of mediator statements and reports

Not every court mediation ends with paperwork going back to the judge, but when a program does require a report on how a mediation turned out, this rule standardizes the format. The mediator files a specific Judicial Council form — known as form ADR-100 — rather than a free-form letter or memo. That consistency helps courts track their mediation programs without each mediator inventing a different reporting style.

The more important half of the rule is what the form cannot say. Even though the court wants to know whether the case settled, the mediator cannot use the form to describe what the parties agreed to or to recount anything said or done during the sessions. The form is built to answer a narrow question — did the parties reach an agreement — not to summarize the mediation itself. That restriction lines up with the broader confidentiality protections that apply to mediation communications under California evidence law.

The rule leaves room for narrow exceptions already recognized elsewhere in the law, so a mediator filling out the form still needs to know the limited circumstances in which disclosure is permitted.