WHEREAS, the Delaware General Assembly recently enacted Senate Bill No. 58, enabling businesses to voluntarily submit disputes involving certain types of commercial technology to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; and

WHEREAS, Senate Bill No. 58 allows the Delaware Court of Chancery to build upon its reputation as the nation’s preeminent forum for resolving complex business disputes, and provides businesses, particularly high technology companies, with an additional incentive to incorporate and do business in Delaware; and

WHEREAS, because businesses increasingly demand methods for resolving disputes that do not involve the time and cost of litigation, Senate Bill No. 58 also permits parties to request that their disputes be handled on a mediation-only basis; and

WHEREAS, given the desire of businesses to have their disputes resolved in a skillful, fast and fair manner, the General Assembly should continue to examine ways to further enhance the Court’s ability to efficiently and effectively handle mediation disputes; and

WHEREAS, one potential area of innovation involves the creative and intelligent deployment of technology to enhance the efficiency of the Court’s mediation procedures, and the quality of services provided thereby; and

WHEREAS, improvements to Delaware’s information technology infrastructure are not only critical to improving the efficiency of our court system, but are also crucial to maintaining a robust economy in the 21^st Century.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the 142^nd General Assembly of the State of Delaware that there is hereby established a Mediation Technology Task Force, whose mission is to examine ways to creatively apply new technologies to those disputes mediated in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Mediation Technology Task Force shall be comprised of the following members:

1. The Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to serve as Chair;
2. The Honorable William B. Chandler, III, Chancellor of the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, or his designee;
3. The President of the Delaware State Bar Association at the time this House Concurrent Resolution is enacted, or his or her designee;
4. The Honorable Harriet Smith Windsor, Secretary of State, or her designee;
5. Ms. Cheryl Kingston, Manager of Information Systems of the Judicial Information Center of the State of Delaware;
6. Ms. Jeanne Mell, Senior Vice President and member of the Technology Committee of the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce;
7. Ms. Louise Eliason of the Delaware Information Technology Association;
8. Mr. William R. Denny, Esq., of the law firm of Potter, Anderson & Corroon, LLP.; and
9. Project Manager of the Videophone Project for the Judiciary.

1. examine ways in which the Court of Chancery’s mediation procedures may benefit from changes in or additions to technology;
2. examine the extent to which such technology would, in the most cost effective manner, be compatible with, and complementary to, more traditional mediation processes and procedures;
3. study the experiences of other states in integrating new technology into judicial proceedings, including but not limited to, the experiences of Maryland and Michigan; and
4. present an initial report detailing the findings of the Task Force to the Chairs of the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee on or before December 31, 2003, with a final report due on or before June 30, 2004.