(1) Any court of record, in its discretion, may refer a case to any ancillary form of alternative dispute resolution; except that the court shall not refer the case to any ancillary form of alternative dispute resolution where one of the parties claims that it has been the victim of physical or psychological abuse by the other party and states that it is thereby unwilling to enter into ancillary forms of alternative dispute resolution. In addition, the court may exempt from referral any case in which a party files with the court, within five days of a referral order, a motion objecting to ancillary forms of alternative dispute resolution and demonstrating compelling reasons why ancillary forms of alternative dispute resolution should not be ordered. Compelling reasons may include, but are not limited to, that the costs of ancillary forms of alternative dispute resolution would be higher than the requested relief and previous attempts to resolve the issues were not successful. Such forms of alternative dispute resolution may include, but are not limited to: arbitration, early neutral evaluation, med-arb, mini-trial, multi-door courthouse concepts, settlement conference, special master, summary jury trial, or any other form of alternative dispute resolution which the court deems to be an effective method for resolving the dispute in question. Parties and counsel are encouraged to seek the most appropriate forum for the resolution of their dispute. Judges may provide guidance or suggest an appropriate forum. However, nothing in this section shall impinge upon the right of parties to have their dispute tried in a court of law, including trial by jury. (2) Ancillary programs may be established, made available, and promoted in any judicial district or combination of districts as designated by the chief judge of the affected district. Rules and regulations for ancillary forms of alternative dispute resolution shall be promulgated by the director of the office of dispute resolution. (3) All rules, regulations, and procedures established pursuant to this section shall be subject to the approval of the chief justice. (4) Nothing in this section shall preclude any court from making a referral to mediation services provided for in this article. (5) All referrals under this section shall be made subject to the availability of alternative dispute resolution programs. Parties referred to ancillary forms of alternative dispute resolution may select services offered by the office of dispute resolution or by other individuals or organizations. (6) This section shall not apply in any civil action where injunctive or similar equitable relief is the only remedy sought.
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