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SECTION 1. Subchapter B,
Chapter 154, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section
154.028 to read as follows:
Sec. 154.028. MEDIATION
FOLLOWING APPLICATION FOR EXPEDITED FORECLOSURE.
(a) Following receipt of an application for an
expedited foreclosure proceeding under Rule 736.1, Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure, a court may, in the court's discretion, conduct a hearing
to determine whether to order mediation. A court may not order mediation
without conducting a hearing. The petitioner or respondent may request a
hearing to determine whether mediation is necessary or whether an
application is defective.
(b) A hearing under
Subsection (a) may not be conducted before the expiration of the respondent's
deadline to file a response.
(c) Subject to Subsection
(d), a hearing under Subsection (a) may be conducted by telephone.
(d) Not later than the
10th day before the date of a hearing under Subsection (a), the court shall
send notice of the hearing to the parties concerning whether the hearing
will be conducted by telephone and, if applicable, instructions for
contacting the court and attending the hearing by telephone.
(e) At a hearing under
Subsection (a), the court must consider any objections to the referral of
the case to mediation.
(f) If the court orders
the case to mediation, the mediation must be conducted before the
expiration of any deadline imposed by Rule 736, Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure.
(g) If the parties to a
case that has been ordered to mediation are unable to agree on the
appointment of a mediator, the court may appoint a mediator. If a mediator
is appointed by the court, the court shall provide all parties with the
name of the chosen mediator at the mediation hearing if the parties are
unable to agree to a mediator at that hearing.
(h) A mediator's fee shall
be divided equally between the parties.
(i) The parties may agree
to waive the mediation process.
(j) If a party does not
respond to an application filed under Rule 736, Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure, before the deadline established by that rule, notice of any
mediation hearing must be made in accordance with Subsection (d), and the
hearing must occur not later than the 15th day after the date the
petitioner files a motion for default order under Rule 736.7, Texas Rules
of Civil Procedure. A petitioner may file a motion to cancel a hearing, and
the court may grant the motion if the petitioner submits an affidavit
stating that the respondent received actual notice and did not reply before
the deadline.
No
equivalent provision.
(k) If a respondent fails
to attend a mediation hearing after notice in accordance with Subsection
(d), the court:
(1) may not order
mediation; and
(2) shall grant or deny
the petitioner's motion for default order under Rule 736.7, Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure.
(l) If a respondent
attends a hearing and mediation is ordered, any mediation must take place
not later than the 29th day after the date the petitioner filed a motion
for default order.
(m) Notwithstanding
Section 22.004, Government Code, the supreme court may not amend or adopt
rules in conflict with this section.
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SECTION 1. Subchapter B,
Chapter 154, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is amended by adding Section
154.028 to read as follows:
Sec. 154.028. MEDIATION
FOLLOWING APPLICATION FOR EXPEDITED FORECLOSURE.
(a) A citation for expedited foreclosure may be served
in the manner provided by Rule 106 or 736, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
Following the filing of a response to an
application for an expedited foreclosure proceeding under Rule 736.5, Texas
Rules of Civil Procedure, a court may, in the court's discretion,
conduct a hearing to determine whether to order mediation. A court may not
order mediation without conducting a hearing. The petitioner or respondent
may request a hearing to determine whether mediation is necessary or
whether an application is defective.
(b) A hearing under
Subsection (a) may not be conducted before the expiration of the
respondent's deadline to file a response.
(c) Subject to Subsection
(d), a hearing under Subsection (a) may be conducted by telephone.
(d) Not later than the
10th day before the date of a hearing under Subsection (a), the court shall
send notice of the hearing to the parties concerning whether the hearing
will be conducted by telephone and, if applicable, instructions for
contacting the court and attending the hearing by telephone.
(e) At a hearing under
Subsection (a), the court must consider any objections to the referral of
the case to mediation.
(f) If the court orders
the case to mediation, the mediation must be conducted before the
expiration of any deadline imposed by Rule 736, Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure.
(g) If the parties to a
case that has been ordered to mediation are unable to agree on the
appointment of a mediator, the court may appoint a mediator. If a mediator
is appointed by the court, the court shall provide all parties with the
name of the chosen mediator at the mediation hearing if the parties are
unable to agree to a mediator at that hearing.
(h) A mediator's fee shall
be divided equally between the parties.
(i) The parties may agree
to waive the mediation process.
No
equivalent provision.
(j) The court may not
conduct a hearing under this section if the applicant has served the
citation in compliance with Rule 106, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and a
response to the application has not been filed before the deadline provided
by Rule 736, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
(k) If a respondent fails
to attend a mediation hearing after notice in accordance with Subsection
(d), the court:
(1) may not order
mediation; and
(2) shall grant or deny
the petitioner's motion for default order under Rule 736.7, Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure.
(l) If a respondent
attends a hearing and mediation is ordered, any mediation must take place
not later than the 29th day after the date the petitioner filed a motion
for default order.
(m) Notwithstanding
Section 22.004, Government Code, the supreme court may not amend or adopt
rules in conflict with this section.
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