Reversal: Small Claims Courts Cannot Order Mediation, ADR

Intro by Mike Commons, Indiana Supreme Court

Indiana Court of Appeals finds parties in Marion County Small Claims Court cannot be ordered to participate in ADR without a contractual agreement to use ADR. The for-publication opinion in Kay Kim and Charles Chuang v. Village at Eagle Creek, Homeowners Assoc., et al., published on October 17, 2019, found ADR Rule 1.4 specifically indicates they apply to civil and domestic relations cases filed in “Circuit, Superior, County, Municipal and Probate Courts in the state. The Marion County small claims courts are not included in this rule; therefore, cases filed in the courts are not subject to the rules, and…cannot be ordered to alternative dispute resolution...”

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