The local court rules for Illinois' 12th Judicial Circuit Court Rules serving Will County.
Rule 8.17 - Mediation Program - Family Division Cases:This rule mandates mediation for all custody, visitation, and other non-economic child-related issues. The rule discusses the qualifications of mediators, establishes referral procedures, and delineates the extent of confidentiality granted to the mediation.
Rule 9.00 - Small Claims: Provides information on small claim cases in Will County. Although there is no formal small claims mediation program in Will County, a group of attorneys do conduct small claims mediations.
Rule 16 - Mandatory Arbitration:This rule discusses the actions subject to mandatory arbitration, qualifications to be an arbitrator, procedures for the scheduling of hearings, discovery, conduct of the hearings, default of a party, awards and judgments. Also, it describes the administration of the mandatory arbitration program.
Rule 17 - Court Annexed Mediation of Civil Cases: This rule authorizes the court to order to mediation any contested civil case valued more than $50,000 and provides parties the opportunity to move to dispense with that order. Should mediation go forward, mediators are selected from a roster, discovery continues, and the mediation is confidential. Mediator compensation, disqualification of the mediator, sanctions for failure to appear, and mediator qualifications are also addressed in the rules.
Rule 17.06 - Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation: The clerk of the court is required to automatically schedule all residential foreclosure cases filed on or after Aug. 1, 2010, for mandatory pre-mediation conferences. The clerk must also provide a form notifying defendant borrowers about the foreclosure mediation program along with the summons. The plaintiff's counsel, the defendant borrowers and a certified mediator are required to attend the pre-mediation conference. To be certified by the court, mediators must be a retired judge or attorney with at least five years of foreclosure litigation experience. The rule also establishes a $150 foreclosure filing fee. It also reviews mediator compensation and immunity, as well as discovery and confidentiality guidelines.