Increasingly, courts are directing parties to mediate their disputes prior to trial. Failure to appear at the mediation can subject a party to court-imposed sanctions. But may the attorney whose client does not comply with the court’s order face sanctions as well? An opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit discussed the circumstances under which such a result might occur.See Miller v. Midland Credit Management, Case No. 20-13390 (11th Cir. 2021).

The plaintiff had filed a class action lawsuit, asserting violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The district court issued a scheduling order referring the case to mediation, to be conducted by June 4. When that deadline passed and the record did not reflect that the mediation had occurred, the court directed that the parties file a status report.