Robert P. Chamberlin, Esquire

*1 Attorney General Mike Moore has received your request for an official opinion and has assigned it to me for research and reply. Your questions and the responses will be set out and answered below.

*1 Response: No. We have previously opined that the state and its political subdivisions are governed by constitutional constraints, including the prohibition against diminishing or relinquishing an obligation or claim held or owned by the state as set forth in MS Const. Art. 4 Section 100. MS AG Op., Clark (June 7, 2002).

*1 Response: Mediation is defined as the attempt to settle a legal dispute through active participation of a third party (mediator) who works to find points of agreement and make those in conflict agree on a fair result. Mediation differs from arbitration, in which the third party (arbitrator) acts much like a judge in an out-of-court, less formal setting but does not actively participate in the discussion. Mediation does not always result in a settlement. (www.law.com) There is nothing to prevent a political subdivision from agreeing to non-binding mediation.

*1 Response: No. Binding arbitration agreements made by political subdivisions are a form of dispute resolution which do not encompass protections of litigation, such as summary judgments, the discovery process and avenues of appeal, and may run afoul of constitutional provisions and statutes. MS AG Op., Clark (June 7, 2002)