On April 1, 2015, the Superior Court of NJ, Appellate Division ruled in the case of O.P. v. L.G-P. that a judge may not order a divorced couple to mediate post-divorce disputes when a final restraining order (FRO) had been entered barring contact between the parties sometime after the parties were divorced, even though the parties’ settlement agreement, made part of their final judgment of divorce, mandated mediation for disputed financial or parenting issues.
The court pointed out that there is a strong policy to avoid domestic violence which trumps the agreement of the parties, even if they are represented by counsel at the post-divorce mediation.
