Tiffany Bond  🦞 🇺🇸Verified account

Mediation can be protective for the more vulnerable party. For example, we have foreclosure diversion mediation in Maine that gives people a chance to understand the financial issues related to their specific loan problems, slowing down the process for homeowner benefit.

However, mediation does not always protect the more vulnerable party. Again, we haven't been given any clarity as to how, when or with what budget this ADR program will be developed. Are we going to end up with someone like @dkenty putting this together or a wedding planner?

A stay of discovery is often not appropriate in mediation/ADR. Discovery is where you exchange documents related to the case. It certainly can get expensive to do so..it also provides necessary information to be able to fully mediate a case.

I don't think federal law should specify that discovery is stayed, and certainly not before the ADR process is developed. The benefit for this is almost entirely to the owner/operator. It gives them the ability to hide documents that would show bad behavior during mediation.

The disabled person would *want* to show their attempts to rectify the situation. The owner/operator would *not want* to be compelled to show that information, particularly if they are acting in bad faith.

They *might* have a public comment period, or not, and we don't know for how long, where, how, or if this information will be available. Seriously, WHO WROTE THIS? It's written like YA fiction, all light and fluffy but to make you feel like you are reading a deep book.

The last few sentences make it clear to me this bill really protects repeat offenders and puts the burden on the disabled. Mediation is less costly, but also less public. Very little is published from mediation, which is generally confidential.

It also looks like the process will require determining "relevant facts" & "steps taken before the commencement of litigation"...which loosely translates into these cases taking a really, really, REALLY long time, where the disabled person is denied access & has the most burden.