Santa Barbara Superior Court’s CADRe Program is officially two years old.

The revised CADRe Program Information brochure is in now in circulation. Pursuant to the requirements of CRC 1580 et seq. (which took effect for general civil cases filed after June 30, 2001), this brochure is also available from the counter clerks in both the Anacapa and Cook Divisions. You may now also obtain it from the CADRe website at www.sbcadre.org/CADRe/program_info.htm.

The long-needed revisions to Local Rule 1102 (which governs the CADRe program) are now in effect. The revision is in the new program information brochure; you can also review it on the CADRe website at www.sbcadre.org/CADRe/rules/cadrerules.htm.

In my last report I mentioned that the Case Management Conference Memo form is newly–revised and in circulation. You may want to get the newest edition of the CMC form because I believe you may encounter difficulties with the clerk’s offices accepting previous editions of this form. As I’ve mentioned before, we have changed the Forms section of the CADRe website so that all forms used in the program (including the CMC Memo form) can now be edited online using either the Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 program that can be downloaded for free if it isn’t already installed on your computer OR the complete Adobe Acrobat 4.0 application software. All the forms and instructions for doing this are available on the CADRe website at www.sbcadre.org/forms/ct.htm. Early reports from users continue to be positive, but please let me know ASAP if you have any problems using these new versions of the forms.

The latest program statistics are now available for your review (in PDF format) on the CADRe website at www.sbcadre.org/CADRe/stats.htm . To recap:

The CADRe program began accepting cases on July 12, 1999. As of August 3, 2001 the South County judges referred a total of 700 cases to CADRe with 390 of these cases opting-into the program.

Ten of these cases selected Early Neutral Evaluation, with four of these cases resolving either at the evaluation or within 60 days of it.

One case opted for Binding Arbitration, though the case eventually settled prior to any further ADR proceedings. At least three cases elected to use a Special Master, though the parties subsequently took one case to mediation, which ended in agreement.

201 South County cases opted for Limited Mediation, available where the amount in controversy does not exceed $50,000.00 and CADRe assigns a mediator to the case at no cost to the parties. As of August 3 a total of 134 of these mediations have completed, with 73 of these ending in agreement, for a respectable 54.47% agreement rate. This figure doesn't include an additional 29 cases that settled prior to the scheduled mediation. Of the 41 mediations that ended in non-agreement, 20 of the cases settled within 60 days of the mediation.

174 cases opted for CADRe Mediation, where the amount in controversy exceeds $50,000.00, the parties select their mediator and pay the mediator's market rate. As of August 3 a total of 137 of these mediations have completed, with 99 of these ending in agreement, for an impressive 73.88% agreement rate. An additional 7 cases settled prior to the scheduled mediation. Of the 30 mediations that ended in non-agreement, 7 of the cases settled within 60 days of the mediation.

The program continues to grow and perform well in North County. From the start of the program to August 3, the North County judges referred a total of 307 cases to CADRe, with 198 of these cases opting-into the program. 102 of these cases opted for Limited Mediation. 71 of these mediations were completed to August 3, with 43 ending in agreement, for a 61.97% agreement rate. 13 cases settled prior to the scheduled mediation. Of the 20 non-agreement cases, 13 of them settled within 60 days of the mediation.

94 of the cases opted for CADRe Mediation. 69 of these mediations completed as of August 3, with 51 ending in agreement, for a 73.91% agreement rate. 4 cases settled prior to the scheduled mediation. Of the 11 mediations that ended in non-agreement, 6 of the cases settled within 60 days of the mediation.

You should know that while I make every effort to be accurate when I prepare these statistical reports, there is some small degree of error in them each month, mostly due to a lag in receiving information. I’d like to emphasize how important it is for you to complete the CADRe stipulations and return them to the CADRe office once you set the date for the CADRe process, and how important it is for the neutrals to return their post-process reports to me in a timely manner. All of this information is entered into a database which I scan in order to prepare these reports.

My next project is an analysis of the post-process evaluations, but I have to adjust a new database for collecting the information from them; stay tuned.

As many of you know, I’m up in the Santa Maria office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays now, so the Santa Barbara office is closed on these days. I can be reached in Santa Maria at 346-7404, but you can always leave a message for me at the Santa Barbara number (568-3124). I check the voicemail system several times each hour when I’m out of the office and I will promptly return your call.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions on how the CADRe office might better serve your needs. I can be reached by phone at 805-568-3124, or by e-mail at cprofio@sbcourts.org.

Thank you,

Chris Profio
CADRe Director