Resolving Administrative Disputes

In 1996, the administrative law in Florida was revised to include new ways to solve disputes: mediation and a summary procedure. Mediation is when a neutral third party helps the involved parties find a solution together, instead of going to court. It’s a flexible and informal process focused on reaching a mutually agreeable solution. Basically, mediation is a way for people to work out their problems without going to court. If both parties agree to it, and sign an agreement, they have to stick to it. Mediation is voluntary and the mediator’s job is to help the parties find common ground and solve their issues. It can be used for simple or complex cases, and the new law mentions mediation for rulemaking and disputes over agency actions. Agencies must let people know if they can use mediation to solve a dispute. They have the choice to offer mediation or not, unless there’s a law saying they have to. If mediation is chosen, the deadline for making a decision is delayed by 60 days, unless both sides agree on a different time. The rules for mediation are flexible and allow agencies and parties to decide how to handle it. There are also rules about when to request mediation and how to let people know about it. If someone’s interests are affected by an agency’s decision, they can ask to be part of the process. In some cases, publishing notice of agency action is important to make sure everyone affected knows what’s going on. But it can be expensive, so it’s usually only done for controversial cases. If you want to request mediation, you can do it as part of a bigger petition, which will save time and paperwork. And anything said in mediation is usually kept confidential, unless everyone agrees to make it public or there’s a court order. The government is unsure if they want to use mediation to solve their problems. The main issue is that it costs money, and the agencies may not have it in their budget. There are laws that allow for mediation, but they don’t require it. Even though the new law says disputes should be mediated before going to court, there’s no rule saying they can’t be mediated after. So, it’s still up in the air whether the government will use mediation to solve their issues. Some government agencies have been using mediation to settle disputes for a while now, even before it was mentioned in the Administrative Procedures Act. Different agencies have different rules for how mediation should be done, some give specific instructions while others are more vague. It’s important to remember that if a document is not specifically exempt from being public, it can’t be kept confidential even if everyone involved agrees. Some agencies have their own rules for mediation, like the Department of Insurance for disputes about long-term care contracts. The statutes that currently allow for mediation in administrative disputes are listed at the end of this article. The new APA has a procedure called a summary hearing to help resolve disputes quickly. It’s meant to make things simpler when there’s no need for a lot of evidence-gathering. But the law doesn’t say exactly what kinds of disputes can use this procedure, so that will be figured out over time.

If all the people involved in the original dispute agree in writing, they can use the summary procedure. Other people who join in later have to follow the judge’s decision on whether to use the summary procedure. The judge can also decide at any time to stop using the summary procedure and go back to the regular way of doing things.

Only certain kinds of requests or actions can be made during a summary proceeding, like asking for more time to prepare, asking for a meeting before the hearing, or asking for the case to be moved to the regular way of doing things. Before the hearing, the people involved have to share information about what they’ll be talking about. More evidence-gathering can be ordered if it’s needed, but it has to be finished at least five days before the hearing.

The hearing itself is like a regular fact-finding discussion, with people talking about what happened and showing any evidence. Once the judge makes a decision, that’s the end of the case. The judge’s decision has to come within 30 days after the hearing. This new type of proceeding makes things go faster by skipping the long process of finding evidence before a trial. Instead, the judge will make a final decision quickly. It’s not clear if agencies will agree to this because they will lose some power. But it will be helpful for agencies with a lot of cases and for people who don’t have a lot of money. The new APA has rules for resolving disputes between government agencies and people. These rules make it easier for people to challenge agency decisions, even if they don’t have a lot of money. There are also rules for mediation, which can help people and agencies reach agreements without going to court. This is all meant to give people better access to the government. Carol A. Forthman is a lawyer at a law firm in Tallahassee. She focuses on environmental and administrative law, and she is also certified as a court mediator.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/resolving-administrative-disputes/