Fla. Stat. § 44.404
This is the official text of Fla. Stat. § 44.404, part of Florida’s Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of Florida, published by the state as "Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
44.404 Mediation; duration.
Official statutory text
(1) A court-ordered mediation begins when an order is issued by the court and ends when: (a) A partial or complete settlement agreement, intended to resolve the dispute and end the mediation, is signed by the parties and, if required by law, approved by the court; (b) The mediator declares an impasse by reporting to the court or the parties the lack of an agreement; (c) The mediation is terminated by court order, court rule, or applicable law; or (d) The mediation is terminated, after party compliance with the court order to appear at mediation, by: 1. Agreement of the parties; or 2. One party giving written notice to all other parties in a multiparty mediation that the one party is terminating its participation in the mediation. Under this circumstance, the termination is effective only for the withdrawing party.
(2) In all other mediations, the mediation begins when the parties agree to mediate or as required by agency rule, agency order, or statute, whichever occurs earlier, and ends when: (a) A partial or complete settlement agreement, intended to resolve the dispute and end the mediation, is signed by the parties and, if required by law, approved by the court; (b) The mediator declares an impasse to the parties; (c) The mediation is terminated by court order, court rule, or applicable law; or (d) The mediation is terminated by: 1. Agreement of the parties; or 2. One party giving notice to all other parties in a multiparty mediation that the one party is terminating its participation in the mediation. Under this circumstance, the termination is effective only for the withdrawing party.
History: s. 4, ch. 2004-291.
(2) In all other mediations, the mediation begins when the parties agree to mediate or as required by agency rule, agency order, or statute, whichever occurs earlier, and ends when: (a) A partial or complete settlement agreement, intended to resolve the dispute and end the mediation, is signed by the parties and, if required by law, approved by the court; (b) The mediator declares an impasse to the parties; (c) The mediation is terminated by court order, court rule, or applicable law; or (d) The mediation is terminated by: 1. Agreement of the parties; or 2. One party giving notice to all other parties in a multiparty mediation that the one party is terminating its participation in the mediation. Under this circumstance, the termination is effective only for the withdrawing party.
History: s. 4, ch. 2004-291.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Florida?
Find a Florida lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.