The Michigan Office of Dispute Resolution recently released a study that showed the use of case evaluation and mediation for civil cases in the state's circuit courts led to higher settlement rates than when neither process was used. Among the study's 33 main findings, the authors reported that the increase in settlement rates was especially pronounced when mediation was used, and mediation was also found to reduce costs for courts and parties. Although the use of case evaluation did have a positive result on settlement rates, it was found to "significantly increase the length of a time a case was open." The study, conducted by Courtland Consulting, looked at tort and non-tort cases seeking monetary awards of more than $25,000. Tort cases are required by Michigan Supreme Court rule to be referred to case evaluation, a process in which a panel of three attorneys appointed by the court hears both sides of a case and then renders a monetary judgment. The authors provide many recommendations for improving both the case evaluation and mediation processes. They also encourage courts to continue offering both processes, but, given the evidence that mediation is more effective, to not require case evaluation for non-tort cases.