Rule 135.Commencement of Mediation

A mediation begins when a party submits a petition to the Prothonotary, along with the required filing fee, signed by Delaware counsel as Rule 90.1(a) defines that term. The Prothonotary sends the petition, via next-day delivery, to whoever the parties' agreement names to receive notice, or, absent that, to each party's principal place of business or residence — using addresses the petitioning party supplies.

The petition itself does real work. It identifies the issues to be mediated and how the parties intend to try to resolve them, and it has to state that every party consented to mediation, that the Superior Court would have subject matter jurisdiction over the dispute, that at least one party is a business entity, that at least one party is a Delaware business entity or has its principal place of business in Delaware or the dispute is governed by Delaware law, and that no party is a consumer in the dispute. If the dispute is solely for monetary damages, the petition also states the amount in controversy. None of this becomes part of the public record — Rule 135(a)(4) keeps the petition and its supporting documents confidential and off the public docket.

Once the Court receives the petition, it appoints a Mediator, who then sets the date, time, and place of the mediation conference within 15 days of receiving the petition; the conference itself generally happens within 60 days of that same receipt date. There's no formal discovery — the Mediator can ask the parties to hand over documents or other material needed to understand the dispute or reach a settlement, and the parties can also agree between themselves to exchange material that might help.