PROCEEDINGS PENDING BEFORE TRIBUNAL; STATUS REPORT. A. Persons in a proceeding pending before a tribunal may sign a collaborative law participation agreement to seek to resolve a collaborative matter related to the proceeding. The parties shall
file promptly with the tribunal a notice of the agreement after it is signed. Subject to subsection C of this section and Sections 7 and 8 of this act, the filing operates as an application for a stay of the proceeding. B. The parties shall file promptly with the tribunal notice in a record when a collaborative law process concludes. The stay of the proceeding under subsection A of this section is lifted when the notice is filed. The notice may not specify any reason for termination of the process. C. A tribunal in which a proceeding is stayed under subsection A of this section may require the parties and collaborative lawyers to provide a status report on the collaborative law process and the proceeding. A status report may include only information on whether the process is ongoing or concluded. It may not include a report, assessment, evaluation, recommendation, finding, or other communication regarding a collaborative law process or collaborative law matter. D. A tribunal may not consider a communication made in violation of subsection C of this section. E. A tribunal shall provide parties notice and an opportunity to be heard before dismissing a proceeding in which a notice of collaborative process is filed based on delay or failure to prosecute. Added by Laws 2025, c. 226, § 6, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.