Team Design v. Anthony Gottlieb

This appeal raises important issues regarding the permissible range of court-annexed alternative dispute resolution procedures available under Tenn. S. Ct. R. 31. The case began in the Davidson County General Sessions Court as a dispute over payment for artwork and graphic design for a country music album. All the parties were dissatisfied with the general sessions court's disposition of their claims and perfected de novo appeals to the Circuit Court for Davidson County. When a dispute arose over the inability of two of the parties to be present on the agreed-upon trial date, the trial court, with all parties' agreement, entered an order referring the case to "binding mediation." The trial court conducted separate, off-the-record discussions with each of the parties and then entered an order finally adjudicating their claims. One of the parties filed a Tenn. R. Civ. P. 59.04 motion objecting to the order on the ground that it had not agreed to waive its right to a trial if the outcome of the mediation was unsatisfactory. After the trial court denied its motion, the moving party perfected this appeal. We have determined that the trial court lacked authority to conduct binding mediation or to finally adjudicate the parties' claims. Accordingly, we vacate the final order.