Are statements made during Florida mediation confidential?

Yes. Florida Statute §44.405 provides the broadest mediation confidentiality protection in the country. All mediation communications — oral, written, or nonverbal — are confidential and inadmissible as evidence in any subsequent proceeding. The privilege belongs to each party and to the mediator. There are narrow exceptions: a written agreement to waive confidentiality signed by all parties and the mediator; communications that reveal a threat of imminent harm to a person; communications used to prove mediator misconduct in a disciplinary proceeding; and communications constituting a crime. Importantly, the Florida Supreme Court has held that even the fact that a party made a particular statement during mediation is privileged — not just the content of the statement. Attorneys should advise clients that documents brought into mediation do not lose their pre-existing privilege status, but any new document created solely for mediation is protected under §44.405.