A. The costs of a mediation session shall be borne equally by all interested persons properly notified of a mediation session. When an interested person who has been properly notified of a mediation session fails to appear for that session or fails to remain for the duration of a session, that interested person shall be wholly responsible for the costs of the mediation session.
B. When a person files a lawsuit subsequent to exhausting the procedures set forth in the Public Works Mediation Act, the court may assess costs against any interested person who was properly notified of a mediation session and who failed to pay his share of the costs of the mediation session.
C. The mediator shall determine whether a person is an interested person for the purpose of sharing the costs of a mediation session.