NC Dispute Resolution Commission
P.O. Box 2448
Raleigh, NC 27602
(919) 890-1415 Telephone
(919) 890-1935 Facsimile
(If you wish to send mail to the Commission by
FED EX,UPS, or some other mail service or want to visit the office and need an actual street address, please return to the menu at left and click on "Contact the Commission". (The Commission does not receive U.S. Mail at its street address.)
Newly Revised Program Rules (effective October 1, 2008)
The North Carolina Supreme Court has adopted revisions to the Mediated Settlement Conference (superior court), Family Financial Settlement (district court) and Clerk Mediation Program Rules.
The new revisions are effective October 1, 2008. During the first week of September, the Commission will be distributing copies of the rules to mediators (by e-mail) and to judges, clerks, court staff and mediation trainers (by US mail) along with a brief summary of the changes. If you do not receive copies, please contact the Commission at (919) 890-1415 prior to October 1st. To download and read the new Rules click below:
Forms to implement the new Rules are pending before the Administrative Office of the Court's Forms Committee. The Commission anticipates that revised forms will be available by the end of October. As with the revised Rules, copies of the revised forms will be directly provided to mediators (by e-mail) and to judges, clerks, court staff and mediation trainers (by US mail).
All mediators should read and review the new rules prior to October 1st.
DRC Newsletter
The Dispute Resolution Commission welcomes you to its website. Created by statute, the Commission is charged with certifying and regulating mediators who serve North Carolina's courts.
Mediators sit down with those involved in legal proceedings to help them discuss their dispute and to search for ways to reach a settlement. Mediators will work with parties to encourage them to open channels of communication, to inject reason into their discussions, and to help each side see the dispute through the eyes of the other. The mediator will also explore with each side the strengths and weaknesses of their case, suggest compromises, and carry offers and counter-offers between them. Unlike judges or juries, mediators do not make decisions for parties. Rather, mediators help parties come to their own conclusions and agreements on how to resolve their conflicts. If mediation is suceessful, parties can settle their case short of protracted litigation or trial.
Mediation is now mandatory for all superior court civil actions filed in North Carolina, except in those cases where a party is seeking an extraordinary writ or is appealing a revocation of a motor vehicle operator's license. Mediation is also mandatory in divorce cases where their are conflicts over equitable distribution (asset and debt division). Clerks may, if they choose, refer certain types of disputes to mediation, including guardianship and estate matters, and parties may elect to participate in district criminal court mediation.
The Commission helps to support four major court-based programs - the Mediated Settlement Conference (MSC)
Program, the
Family Financial Settlement (FFS) Program, the Clerk Mediation (CMP) Program and the District Criminal Court Mediation Program (DCC). This website provides extensive information on each of these programs. The Commission also helps to support the Pre-litigation Farm Nuisance Mediation Program, designed to promote early settlement of livestock and agricultural nuisance disputes.
The Commission's office welcomes inquiries about the Commission's work and the programs it supports.