Delaware Business Litigation Report

Court of Chancery Grants Motion to Enforce Confidentiality Provisions of Rule 174

Delaware TCMP3 Partners LLP v. Centerpoint Corp., C.A. No. 170-N, 2006 WL 1388751 (Del. Ch. May 10, 2006). Parties to a mediation agreement moved to enforce the confidentiality provisions of Court of Chancery Rule 174. Plaintiff TCMP3 Partners LLP moved to enforce a mediation agreement resulting from a mediation conducted by Vice Chancellor Lamb (the "Mediator") pursuant to Court of Chancery Rule 174. In the motion, Plaintiff included communications with the Mediator that certain parties to the mediation agreement, Bion Environmental Technologies, Inc. and Bion Dairy Corporation (collectively, the "Bions"), claimed were subject to the confidentiality provisions of Rule 174. Plaintiff claimed that the communications were not subject to the confidentiality provisions of Rule 174 because they did not occur at the mediation conference and were not prepared specifically for use in a mediation conference. Applying Rule 174, the Court held that the disputed communications were protected by Rule 174 because they were communications made to the mediator in connection with the mediation and related to the controversy being mediated. Accordingly, the Court granted the motion to enforce the confidentiality provisions of Rule 174 and accepted a redacted version of Plaintiff's motion to enforce the settlement agreement. Share