South Dakota Codified Laws 19-19-515. Mediation privilege
All verbal or written information relating to the subject matter of a mediation which is transmitted between any party to a dispute and a mediator or any agent, employee, or representative of a party or a mediator is confidential. Any mediation proceeding shall be regarded as settlement negotiations, and no admission, representation, or statement made in mediation not otherwise discoverable is admissible as evidence or subject to discovery. A mediator is not subject to process requiring the disclosure of any material matter discussed during the mediation proceeding unless all the parties consent to a waiver. A meeting held to further the resolution of a dispute may be closed to the public at the discretion of the mediator. This section does not apply if a party brings an action against the mediator or if the communication was made in furtherance of a crime or fraud. This section does not apply to mediations conducted pursuant to chapter 25-4.
Terms Used In South Dakota Codified Laws 19-19-515
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- written: include typewriting and typewritten, printing and printed, except in the case of signatures, and where the words are used by way of contrast to typewriting and printing. See South Dakota Codified Laws 2-14-2
Source: SL 1998, ch 112, § 1; SDCL § 19-13-32.