About DRS Court Mediation Programs

RCBA Dispute Resolution Service administers five mediation programs for the Riverside County Superior Court. These programs are funded by the Dispute Resolution Programs Act (DRPA) through the County of Riverside.

Family Law Voluntary Settlement Conference (VSC) Program at Riverside

The Riverside Family Law Voluntary Settlement Conference (RIV VSC) Program was established by Judge Jackson Lucky, the Riverside Family Law Court and DRS in November 2010. The RIV VSC program was designed for family law cases wherein the parties have no legal representation. Later, the program was expanded to include cases with one side represented by counsel (if both side are represented, they’re ineligible for the program). The litigants to those matters referred to the program have the opportunity to resolve their cases through mediation and file a stipulated judgment the same day at no cost. Approximately 75 percent of the cases referred to the program settle all issues and receive a judgment the same day. If all of the issues are not or cannot be resolved at the VSC, the program often still aids the parties in moving their cases forward to receive a judgment sooner.

Family Law Voluntary Settlement Conference (VSC) Program at Indio

The Indio Family Law Voluntary Settlement Conference (IND VSC) program is held once a month at the Larson Justice Center in Indio. Both parties to a matter must be unrepresented in order to be eligible for the IND VSC program. DRS works with the Court to coordinate the assignment of a mediator from the DRS Indio Family Law VSC panel to each case on that respective calendar date. There are no more than five cases referred to the IND VSC program each month.

Trial Assignment Mediation Program at Riverside (TAM at Riverside, RIV TAM)

DRS and the Riverside County Superior Court work in conjunction to provide the Trial Assignment Mediation program at Riverside. TAM at Riverside was designed to give the litigants a last opportunity to settle their case before the matter proceeds to trial the following week. A wide variety of civil cases are referred to TAM at Riverside for mediation, ranging anywhere from contract to probate law. The mediations are conducted at the Riverside Historic Courthouse every Friday.

Trial Assignment Mediation Program at Southwest (TAM at Southwest/Murrieta, MUR TAM)

In January 2015, the DRS and the Riverside County Superior Court established a new TAM program at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta. TAM at Southwest was designed to give the litigants a last opportunity to settle their case before the matter proceeds to trial the following week. A wide variety of civil cases are referred to TAM at Southwest for mediation, ranging anywhere from contract to probate law. The mediations are conducted at the Southwest Justice Center most Fridays.

DRS Probate Mediation Program

DRS and the Riverside County Superior Court work in conjunction to provide the Probate Mediation Program. This is a free to low-cost mediation program for probate matters. The parties receive three hours of mediation for free through the program. After the first three hours, the parties may agree to pay a reduced hourly rate through DRS if they wish to continue with the mediation session. The Court selects the cases that are to be mediated through this program and forwards DRS and the parties to the action a Notice of Referral. DRS is responsible for coordinating the assignment of a mediator to the case and scheduling the mediation session. Cases are typically referred from the Riverside, Temecula and Indio courts. The mediations are usually held at the Riverside County Bar Association.

(Note: The DRS Probate Mediation Program panel is separate from the Court’s Civil Mediation Program panel, however, the programs are very similar. DRS only schedules the matters referred to our office pursuant to a Notice of Referral from the Court.