But mediation confidentiality in California courts is based on the California Evidence Code. Do the same rules apply in federal court?
The Ninth Circuit addressed this issue in The Facebook, Inc. v. Pacific Northwest Software, Inc., --- F.3d ----, 2011 WL 1346951 (9th Cir. 4/11/11). The case concerns allegations that Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea for facebook.com from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, as depicted in the film, The Social Network.
The district court ordered the parties to mediation. Before mediation, they signed a confidentiality agreement, stipulating that all statements made during mediation were privileged, non-discoverable and inadmissible "in any arbitral, judicial, or other proceeding." At mediation, the parties signed a "Term Sheet & Settlement Agreement."
The Winklevosses agreed to give up ConnectU in exchange for cash and a piece of Facebook. The parties stipulated that the Settlement Agreement was “confidential,” “binding” and “may be submitted into evidence to enforce [it].” The Settlement Agreement also purported to end all disputes between the parties.
The settlement fell apart during negotiations over the form of the final deal documents, and Facebook filed a motion with the district court seeking to enforce it. ConnectU argued that the Settlement Agreement was unenforceable because it lacked material terms and had been procured by fraud. The district court found the Settlement Agreement enforceable and ordered the Winklevosses to transfer all ConnectU shares to Facebook. This had the effect of moving ConnectU from the Winklevosses' to Facebook's side of the case.
Slip op. at 1.
The Court held that the settlement agreement was enforceable. First, it contained all necessary material terms, even though it contemplated additional documents to complete the deal.
California allows parties to delegate choices over terms, so long as the delegation is constrained by the rest of the contract and subject to the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Delegation isn't necessary for a contract like the Settlement Agreement to be enforceable, as the court may fill in missing terms by reference to the rest of the contract, extrinsic evidence and industry practice. But the clause quoted above leaves no doubt that the Winklevosses and Facebook meant to bind themselves and each other, even though everyone understood that some material aspects of the deal would be papered later.
Slip op. at 2.
The Court then reached the confidentiality issue.
After signing the Settlement Agreement, Facebook notified the Winklevosses that an internal valuation prepared to comply with Section 409A of the tax code put the value of its common stock at $8.88 per share. The Winklevosses argue that Facebook misled them into believing its shares were worth four times as much. Had they known about the $8.88 valuation during the mediation, they claim, they would never have signed the Settlement Agreement. The Winklevosses charge Facebook with violating Rule 10b–5, and they seek rescission of the Settlement Agreement under Section 29(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act).
Slip op. at 3. The Court held that contractual mediation confidentiality -- not any common law privilege, Federal Rule of Evidence, or Local Rule -- prohibited introduction of evidence of anything said during the mediation.
The district court excluded this evidence under its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Local Rule 6–11, which it read to create a “privilege” for “evidence regarding the details of the parties' negotiations in their mediation.” But privileges are created by federal common law. See Fed.R.Evid. 501. It's doubtful that a district court can augment the list of privileges by local rule. In any event, the parties used a private mediator rather than a court-appointed one. Their mediation was thus “not subject to the ... ADR Local Rules,” including Local Rule 6–11.
Slip op. at 5.
Nevertheless, the district court was right to exclude the proffered evidence. The Confidentiality Agreement, which everyone signed before commencing the mediation, provides that:All statements made during the course of the mediation or in mediator follow-up thereafter at any time prior to complete settlement of this matter are privileged settlement discussions ... and are non-discoverable and inadmissible for any purpose including in any legal proceeding.... No aspect of the mediation shall be relied upon or introduced as evidence in any arbitral, judicial, or other proceeding.This agreement precludes the Winklevosses from introducing in support of their securities claims any evidence of what Facebook said, or did not say, during the mediation. The Winklevosses can't show that Facebook misled them about the value of its shares or that disclosure of the tax valuation would have significantly altered the mix of information available to them during settlement negotiations. Without such evidence, their securities claims must fail.
Slip op. at 5.
The moral of the story for us -- mediators and parties going to mediation -- is to be sure that everyone signs a mediation confidentiality agreement before the mediation starts. And if you reach a settlement agreement at mediation, make sure you get the signatures on the dotted line before anyone leaves.
The opinion is available here.
