If the mediation does not resolve the action, the court may, in its discretion, schedule a settlement conference before a judge of the superior court. If the action is later heard on its merits, the judge hearing the action shall not be the same judge who conducted the settlement conference, except in counties with only one judge of the superior court.
(Added by Stats. 1994, Ch. 300, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 1995.)