1. (a) Whenever the parties have agreed to mediation they shall be deemed to have made these rules, as amended and in effect as of the date of the submission of the dispute, a part of their agreement to mediate.
2. (b) The mediator shall not serve as a mediator in any dispute in which he has any financial or personal interest in the result of the mediation. Prior to accepting an appointment, the mediator shall disclose to the executive director and the parties any circumstance likely to create a presumption of bias or prevent a prompt meeting with the parties. In such an event, the executive director shall immediately appoint another mediator to the case.
3. (c) The mediator does not have the authority to decide any issue for the parties, but will attempt to facilitate the voluntary resolution of the dispute by the parties.
4. (d) Party representatives must have authority to settle and all persons necessary to the decision to settle shall be present. The names and addresses of such persons shall be communicated in writing to all parties and the mediator.
5. (e) The mediator shall fix the time of each mediation session. The mediation shall be held at the office of the commission, or at any other convenient location agreeable to the mediator and the parties, as the mediator shall determine.
6. (f) Mediation sessions are private. The parties and their representatives may attend mediation sessions. Other persons may attend only with the permission of the parties and with the consent of the mediator.
7. (g) There shall be no stenographic record of the mediation process and no person shall tape record any portion of the mediation session.
8. (h) No subpoenas, summons, complaints, citations, writs, or other process may be served upon any person at or near the site of any mediation session upon any person entering, attending, or leaving the session.

9. (i) The mediation shall be terminated:

   1. (1) by the execution of a settlement agreement by the parties;
   2. (2) by declaration of the mediator to effect that further efforts at mediation are no longer worthwhile; or
   3. (3) after the completion of one full mediation session, by a written declaration of a party or parties to the effect that the mediation proceedings are terminated.
10. (j) The mediator is not a necessary or proper party in judicial proceedings relating to the mediation. Neither the mediator nor the commission or its designees shall be liable to any party for any act or omission in connection with any mediation conducted under these rules.
11. (k) Commission mediators shall not be subjected to requests for discovery, deposition or live testimony, in any subsequent administrative or legal proceeding arising from the subject matter of the mediation.
12. (l) The mediator shall interpret and apply these rules.

Source Note:The provisions of this §819.92 adopted to be effective July 5, 1994, 19 TexReg 4820; transferred effective March 1, 2004, as published in the Texas Register April 9, 2004, 29 TexReg 3653.