§ 155.005.Authority of Court

The enforcement provision, and it is short because the power it grants is broad.

Each participating court may make the orders needed to implement settlement weeks.

The orders must be consistent with existing law. The section adds authority within the system rather than above it.

Good faith participation is named as an object of the power. A court may order what is needed to ensure a party takes part in good faith.

Good faith participation is not the same as settling. Section 154.053, borrowed by Section 155.004, forbids compelling or coercing a party into an agreement.

The line falls between attendance and outcome. A court can require a party to appear, on time, with someone who has authority to settle; it cannot require the party to agree.

Confidentiality limits what the court can learn. A mediator may not report on a party’s conduct or demeanor, which shapes how a good faith question can be raised at all.

The authority is procedural. Scheduling, attendance, notice and who must appear are the subjects an implementing order addresses.

Existing law is the ceiling. A settlement week order cannot reach further than the court could reach in the case on any other week of the year.