Rate of Compensation

The mediator shall be compensated at the rate of $500.00 per hour for cases involving one plaintiff and one defendant. If there are 3 or more parties participating in the mediation, the Mediator shall be compensated at the rate of $600.00 per hour. The Mediator shall also be reimbursed expenses incurred in connection with the mediation including, but not limited to parking, airfare, hotel, meals, mileage outside of Duval or Nassau County, Florida, long-distance charges to facilitate the mediation, etc.

              (a) Since the Mediator is responsible for scheduling the mediation and preparing all of the necessary paperwork for submission to the Court for signature and distribution, the Mediator is entitled to charge a minimum of 1 hour for the time involved in performing this administrative function. Time in excess of 1 hour will be charged when review of voluminous materials, telephone conferences or other additional activities are undertaken.

              (b) If at any time within 5 business days of a scheduled mediation, the mediation conference is canceled for any reason, other than at the request of the Mediator, if the parties fail to appear, or if the case settles, the Mediator is entitled to charge the parties 3 hours per half day for the cancellation of the mediation conference, or 5 hours per full day for the cancellation of the mediation conference. This charge will be in addition to the 1-hour charge set forth in paragraph (a) above. To avoid this fee, the parties must notify the Mediator that all parties mutually agree to cancel/reschedule the mediation prior to the 5 day time period set forth above. Notification of the possibility or likelihood of cancellation/rescheduling or forgetting to notify the Mediator shall not be sufficient reason to avoid such fee.

              (c) If at any time, the mediation conference is rescheduled, other than at the request of the Mediator, the Mediator is entitled to charge 1 hour for each rescheduling of the mediation conference and sending the necessary notices of the rescheduling.

              (d) In the event mediation is begun, as scheduled, and is settled, continued, or terminated for any reason, a minimum charge of 3 hours will be made for a scheduled half-day mediation conference or a 5-hour minimum charge for a scheduled full-day mediation conference.

              (e) All charges for mediation are payable within 30 days of receipt of the statement from the Mediator.

              (f) All mediation charges are to be divided equally among the parties unless agreed otherwise.

Mediations can be held via Zoom or in person at an agreed-upon location.