IN THE STATE COURT OF DEKALB COUNTY

STATE OF GEORGIA

HERITAGE BANK

vs. Civil Action No. 09A11176-3

JAMES B STEGEMAN

All attorneys in the above referenced case are hereby ordered to confer with their clients and counsel for all other parties
regarding the appropriateness of a alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process as a beneficial alternative to trial. If you
are not represented by an attorney, you shall confer directly with staff at the DeKalb Courts Dispute Resolution Center
(404370-8194) to determine whether alternative dispute resolution services would be appropriate for your case. All
parties are required to r-eturn this form to the Clerk's office by hand or mail to: Room 230, DeKalb County

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Courthouse, 556 N. McDonough St, Decatur, GA 30030, within one hundred and twenty (120) days of this date.

SOORDEREDTInS~DAYOF~b.&. ,2009

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All attorneys/parties acknowledge they have read the *Dispute Resolution Center brochure from the DeKalb County
State Court and have conferred with their clients and the opposing side or Center directly about utilization of ADR
services.

We wish to utilize ADR services and we will contact the DeKalb Dispute Resolution Center within the
next 15 days to begin scheduling.

This case is likely to settle within days without ADR.

) We elect to use private ADR and will report results to the court by ~~~~~~~ __ . We are
aware by electing private ADR we are waiving the opportunity for ADR costs being covered by the
county's ADR services.

We do not wish to utilize an ADR process. Estimated length of trial __ days.

Case to be/not to be reported.

Plaintiff or Attorney for Plaintiff Defendant or Attorney for Defendant

Print Name Print Name

*A copy of the Dispute Resolution Services brochure for DeKalb State Court may be obtained at the Clerk's Office or
through the Dispute Resolution Center,l 06 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 (404370-8194 ). You can also view
this information at www.dekalbstatecourt.net. Most if not all the time for these services are provided at no cost to the
parties through the DeKalb County Courts ADR Trust Fund.

CC: ALL PARTIES

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 OeKalb County Multi-Door Courthouse
Dispute Resolution Center

OeKalb County Courts established the ~fulti-Door Courthouse, Dispute Resolution Center so
that citizens in disputes would have input into the method used to resolve their disputes. The
goal of the Center is to offer parties alternative paths to reach settlement of disputes without
experiencing the stress, expense and delay inherent in litigation. While the choice of litigation
remains an option and is never relinquished by use of another alternative, the court recognizes
that other methods to reach settlement of ,disputes may ultimately be more satisfying and
successful than actual litigation.

If one of the alternative choices offered by the Dispute Resolution Center is selected, a State
registered and DeKalb Court certified neutral wi11 be appointed to assist the parties in resolving
the dispute. The Dispute Resolution Center pays the neutral appointed for the first 2 ~ to 6 ~
hQurs depending on case type. AU conferences are confidential and privileged. The proceedings
are less fonnal and significantly more relaxed than, a courtroom, and parties are given an
opportunity to present their case in whatever method they feel most appropriate. All parties must
agree on the dispute resolution process and Center staff are available in person or by phone to
assist in providing information in order for parties to make their decision.

Mediation---is a confidential negotiation process. Throughout the process the mediator remains
a neutral facilitator enabling the parties to identify interests (versus rights), prioritize issues and
explore a broad range of options that could resolve their dispute(s). Mediation can be useful in a
wide variety of case types but is particularly appropriate when there are emotional issues
involved and there will be any fonn of a continuing relationship between the parties. The
mediator has no authority to compel an agreement or impose a settlement. The parties can stop
mediation at any time that they feel no progress is being made. Of all dispute resolution
processes, mediation enables the parties to retain the greatest control in the problem solving
process.

Early ~eutral Evaluation- ••This process provides for a confidential, non-binding evaluation
conference under the direction of an experienced attorney who has significant expertise in the
subject matter of the case. Held in early stages of litigation, the goal is to make the case
discovery and development process more organized, less time consuming, and less expensive.
Lawyers on both sides attend with their clients and each side makes a brief presentation of their
case. The evaluator assists the parties in identifying areas of agreement and attempts to narrow
the legal and factual issues. This process is usually reserved for the more complex cases. The
evaluator provides the parties an opportunity to engage in settlement discussions should they
desire to do so. If unsuccessful, the evaluator helps the parties to develop a plan and a schedule
to position the case for future settlement discussions or for such further action as may be
necessary.

Case Evaluation--- The role of the evaluator in this process is to assist the parties in taking an
'Jbjeccive look at the strengths and weaknesses of their o\vn case, as well as the strengths and
'.\"eaknesses of their opponent's case. The goal is to provide parties with a reality check based
upon the opinions of a neutral, who must be an attorney with at lest 10 years experience and
suff1cient practical experience in the subject matter involved in the dispute. The evaluator
cannot act as In Jdvocate or attorney for either party but must remain neutral. The evaluator