California Supreme Court Speaks on Mediation Confidentiality

The California Supreme Court, Justice Marvin Baxter, one of the court's known conservatives writing the opinion, has spoken on mediation confidentiality. The Court held that the mediation privilege prevents a client from using testimony regarding what his lawyer told him or did during a mediation in a legal malpractice case by the client against the attorney. The point is that a lawyer can commit malpractice at a mediation and no one will hear about it! Fair? Unfair? The reaction is divided.

In Cassel v. Superior Court, 51 Cal. 4^th 113, 244 P. 3d 1080 (January 13, 2011), the client brought an action against attorneys who represented him in a mediation in a malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, and breach of contract action. At trial the attorneys made a motion in limine using the statute relating to mediation confidentiality (Cal. Evid. Code §1119(a), (b)) to exclude all evidence of communications between the client and the lawyer that were related to the mediation, including what was discussed in pre-mediation meetings and private communications between the client and attorneys during the mediation.