Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.866 · Article 3. Requirements for Addressing Complaints About Court-Program Mediators
Definitions
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
As used in this article, unless the context or subject matter requires otherwise:
(1) "The rules of conduct" means rules 3.850-3.860 of the California Rules of Court in article 2.
(2) "Court-program mediator" means a person subject to the rules of conduct under rule 3.851.
(3) "Inquiry" means an unwritten communication presented to the court's complaint coordinator indicating that a mediator may have violated a provision of the rules of conduct.
(4) "Complaint" means a written communication presented to the court's complaint coordinator indicating that a mediator may have violated a provision of the rules of conduct.
(5) "Complainant" means the person who makes or presents a complaint.
(6) "Complaint coordinator" means the person designated by the presiding judge under rule 3.867(a) to receive complaints and inquiries about the conduct of mediators.
(7) "Complaint committee" means a committee designated or appointed to investigate and make recommendations concerning complaints under rule 3.869(d)(2).
(8) "Complaint procedure" means a procedure for presenting, receiving, reviewing, responding to, investigating, and acting on any inquiry or complaint.
(9) "Complaint proceeding" means all of the proceedings that take place as part of a complaint procedure concerning a specific inquiry or complaint.
(10) "Mediation communication" means any statement that is made or any writing that is prepared for the purpose of, in the course of, or pursuant to a mediation or a mediation consultation, as defined in Evidence Code section 1115, and includes any communications, negotiations, and settlement discussions between participants in the course of a mediation or a mediation consultation.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
Rule 3.866 adopted effective July 1, 2009, effective date extended to January 1, 2010.
Advisory Committee Comment
Paragraph (2). Under rule 3.851, the rules of conduct apply when a mediator, or a firm with which a mediator is affiliated, has agreed to be included on a superior court's list or panel of mediators for general civil cases and is notified by the court or the parties that he or she has been selected to mediate a case within that court's mediation program or when a mediator has agreed to mediate a general civil case after being notified that he or she was recommended, selected, or appointed by a court, or will be compensated by a court, to mediate a case within a court's mediation program.
Paragraphs (3) and (4). The distinction between "inquiries" and "complaints" is significant because some provisions of this article apply only to complaints (i.e., written communications presented to the court's complaint coordinator indicating that a mediator may have violated a provision of the rules of conduct) and not to inquiries.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/three/rule3_866
- Text hash
- sha256 cdafaddcad2e885d7a312ea80f6fd883a495039d79cbbe3785a6744a7fd0a84a
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
BenchPath cards that rely on this text
- Inyo County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2025) — Article VI: Civil Proceedings
- Los Angeles County Superior Court Local Rules (effective July 1, 2026) — Chapter Three: Civil Division Rules
- Merced County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Civil Rules; Civil Jury Trials; Civil Jury Instructions (Rules 3 to 4.1)
- Monterey County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (effective July 1, 2026) — Chapter 6: Civil Department
- Orange County Superior Court Local Rules (current edition, effective July 1, 2025) — Division 3: Civil Rules
- Santa Barbara County Superior Court Local Rules of Court (current local rules effective January 1, 2025) — Chapter Eleven: Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”)
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.850Purpose and functionPrinted as rules 3.850-3.860 of the California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.851ApplicationPrinted as rule 3.851
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.860Attendance sheet and agreement to disclosurePrinted as rules 3.850-3.860 of the California Rules of Court
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.867Complaint coordinatorPrinted as rule 3.867(a)
- Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.869General requirements for complaint procedures and complaint proceedingsPrinted as rule 3.869(d)(2)
Cited by 1 provision
Provisions in this library whose text cites Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.866. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.