NRCP Rule 16
RULE 16. PRETRIAL CONFERENCES -- SCHEDULING -- MANAGEMENT
(a) Pretrial Conferences; Objectives. In any
action, the court may in its discretion direct the attorneys for the parties
and any unrepresented parties to appear before it for a conference or
conferences before trial for such purposes as:
(1) Expediting the disposition of the action;
(2) Establishing early and continuing control so that
the case will not be protracted because of lack of management;
(3) Discouraging wasteful pretrial activities;
(4) Improving the quality of the trial through more
thorough preparation; and
(5) Facilitating the settlement of the case.
(b) Scheduling and Planning. Except in
categories of actions exempted by district court rule as inappropriate, the
judge, or a discovery commissioner when the case has not been designated as
complex litigation pursuant to Rule 16.1(f), shall, after consulting with the
attorneys for the parties and any unrepresented parties, by a scheduling conference,
telephone, mail, or other suitable means, enter a scheduling order that limits
the time:
(1) To join other parties and to amend the pleadings;
(2) To file and hear motions; and
(3) To complete discovery.
The scheduling order may also include:
(4) The date or dates for conferences before trial, a
final pretrial conference, and trial; and
(5) Any other matters appropriate in the circumstances
of the case.
The order shall issue as soon as practicable but in no
event more than 180 days after filing of the complaint. A schedule shall not be
modified except by leave of the judge or a discovery commissioner upon a
showing of good cause.
(c) Subjects to Be Discussed at Pretrial
Conferences. The participants at any conference under this rule may
consider and take action with respect to:
(1) The formulation and simplification of the issues,
including the elimination of frivolous claims or defenses;
(2) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the
pleadings;
(3) The possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and
of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof, stipulations regarding the
authenticity of documents, and advance rulings from the court on the
admissibility of evidence;
(4) The avoidance of unnecessary proof and of
cumulative evidence;
(5) The identification of witnesses and documents, the
need and schedule for filing and exchanging pretrial briefs, and the date or
dates for further conferences and for trial;
(6) The advisability of referring matters to a master;
(7) The possibility of settlement or the use of
extrajudicial procedures to resolve the dispute;
(8) The form and substance of the pretrial order;
(9) The disposition of pending motions;
(10) The need for adopting special procedures for
managing potentially difficult or protracted actions that may involve complex
issues, multiple parties, difficult legal questions, or unusual proof problems;
(11) The limitation of the number of expert witnesses;
and
(12) Such other matters as may aid in the disposition
of the action.
At least one of the attorneys for each party
participating in any conference before trial shall have authority to enter into
stipulations and to make admissions regarding all matters that the participants
reasonably anticipate may be discussed.
(d) Final Pretrial Conference. Any final
pretrial conference shall be held as close to the time of trial as reasonable
under the circumstances. The participants at any such conference shall
formulate a plan for trial, including a program for facilitating the admission
of evidence. The conference shall be attended by at least one of the attorneys
who will conduct the trial for each of the parties and by any unrepresented
parties.
(e) Pretrial Orders. After any conference held
pursuant to this rule, an order shall be entered reciting any action taken.
This order shall control the subsequent course of the action unless modified by
a subsequent order. The order following a final pretrial conference shall be
modified only to prevent manifest injustice.
(f) Sanction. If a party or party’s attorney
fails to obey a scheduling or pretrial order, or if no appearance is made on
behalf of a party at a scheduling or pretrial conference, or if a party or
party’s attorney is substantially unprepared to participate in the conference,
or if a party or party’s attorney fails to participate in good faith, the
judge, upon motion or the court’s own initiative, may make such orders with regard
thereto as are just, including any of the orders provided in Rule 37(b)(2)(B),
(C), (D). In lieu of or in addition to any other sanction, the judge shall
require the party or the attorney representing him or both to pay the
reasonable expenses incurred because of any noncompliance with this rule,
including attorney’s fees, unless the judge finds that the noncompliance was
substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses
unjust.
NRCP Rule 16.1
RULE 16.1. MANDATORY PRE-TRIAL
DISCOVERY REQUIREMENTS
(a) Attendance at Early Case Conference. Within
thirty (30) days after service of the answer by the first answering defendant,
and thereafter as each defendant answers the original complaint or an amended
complaint, the attorneys for the parties, who must possess authority to act and
knowledge of the case obtained after reasonable inquiry under the
circumstances, shall meet in person for the purpose of complying with
subdivision (b) of this rule. The attorney for the plaintiff shall designate
the time and place of each meeting which must be held in the county where the
action was filed, unless the parties agree upon a different location. The
attorney’s may agree to continue the time for the case conference for an
additional period of not more than ninety (90) days. The court, in its discretion
and for good cause shown, may also continue the time for the conference. Absent
compelling and extraordinary circumstances, neither the court nor the parties
may extend the time to a day more than one hundred and eighty (180) days after
service of the summons and complaint upon the defendant in question. The time
for holding a case conference with respect to a defendant who has filed a
motion pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2)-(4) is tolled until entry of an order denying
the motion.
(b) Meet and Confer Requirements; Mandatory
Discovery Exchanges. At each case conference, the attorneys must:
(1) Exchange all documents then reasonably available to
a party which are then contemplated to be used in support of the allegations or
denials of the pleading filed by that party, including rebuttal and impeachment
documents;
(2) Request with reasonable specificity from the
opposing party all other documents, discoverable within the scope of Rule
26(b), that may support the allegations of the pleading filed by the requesting
party, including rebuttal and impeachment documents. The opponent must (A)
provide the additional documents, or (B) agree to provide the additional
documents as soon as they are reasonably available, or (C) explain why the documents
will not be provided;
(3) Identify, describe or produce all tangible things
which constitute or contain matters within the scope of Rule 26(b) and, upon
request, arrange for all other parties to inspect and copy, test or sample the
same;
(4) Request to inspect and copy, test or sample any
tangible things which constitute or contain matters within the scope of Rule
26(b) and which are in the possession, custody or control of another party. The
party who has possession, custody or control of such tangible things must (A)
provide the discovery requested, or (B) explain why it will not be provided;
(5) Exchange written lists of persons (other than
expert witnesses or consultants) then known or reasonably believed to have
knowledge of any facts relevant to the allegations of any pleading filed by any
party to the action, including persons having knowledge of rebuttal or
impeachment evidence. Each person must be identified by name and location,
along with a general description of the subject matter of his testimony. Each
party is under a continual duty to promptly supplement that party’s list of
persons pursuant to this subsection;
(6) Propose a plan and schedule of discovery and make a
reasonable effort to agree with opposing attorneys to provide all discovery
requested, with any conditions or limitations thereon;
(7) Discuss settlement of the action and the use of
extrajudicial procedures or alternative methods of dispute resolution to
resolve the controversy; and
(8) Discuss such other matters as may aid in the
disposition of the action.
(c) Case Conference Report. Within thirty (30)
days after each case conference, the parties must file a joint case conference
report or, if the parties are unable to agree upon the contents of a joint
report, each party must serve and file a case conference report which, either
as a joint or individual report, must contain:
(1) A brief description of the nature of the action and
each claim for relief or defense;
(2) A proposed plan and schedule of any additional
discovery;
(3) A written list of all documents provided at or as a
result of the case conference together with any objection that the document is
not authentic or genuine. The failure to state any objection to the
authenticity or genuineness of a document constitutes a waiver of such
objection at a subsequent hearing or trial. For good cause the court may permit
the withdrawal of a waiver and the assertion of an objection;
(4) A written list of all documents not provided under
subsection (b)(2)(C) of this rule together with the explanation as to why each
document was not provided;
(5) The written list of persons exchanged pursuant to
subsection (b)(5) of this rule; and
(6) An estimate of the time required for discovery.
After any subsequent case conference, the parties must
supplement, but need not repeat, the contents of prior reports. Within seven
(7) days after service of any case conference report, any other party may file
a response thereto objecting to all or a portion of the report or adding any
other matter which is necessary to properly reflect the proceedings occurring
at the case conference. All case conference reports and responses shall be
signed in accordance with Rule 11.
(d) Case Conference Disputes; Court Intervention.
(1) At any time after the filing of a case conference
report, the court, upon motion or on its own initiative, may direct the
attorneys and the parties to appear before the court or a discovery
commissioner to resolve any disputes arising during or as a result of the case
conference. The resolution of all discovery disputes by stipulation of the
parties shall be entered in the minutes in the form of an order or reduced to
writing subscribed by the parties or by their attorneys.
(2) Following each dispute resolution conference before
a discovery commissioner, the commissioner must prepare and file a report with
his recommendations for a resolution of each unresolved dispute. The clerk of
the court shall forthwith serve a copy of the report on all parties. Within
five (5) days after being served with a copy, any party may serve and file
written objections to the recommendations.
(3) Upon receipt of a discovery commissioner’s report
and any objections thereto or after any resolution conference which was held
before the court, the court shall enter an order establishing a plan and
schedule for discovery, setting limitations on the discovery, if appropriate,
requiring compliance with subdivision (b) of this rule, imposing sanctions pursuant
to subdivision (e) of this rule, if necessary, and determining such other
matters, including the allocation of expenses, as are necessary for proper
control of the action.
(e) Failure or Refusal to Participate in Pre-Trial
Discovery; Sanctions.
(1) If the mandatory discovery meeting described in
Rule 16.1(a) is not held within one hundred and eighty (180) days after service
of the summons and complaint upon a defendant, the case may be dismissed as to
that defendant upon motion or on the court’s own initiative, without prejudice,
unless there are compelling and extraordinary circumstances for a continuance
beyond this period.
(2) If the plaintiff does not file a case conference
report within two hundred and forty (240) days after the service of a summons
and complaint upon a defendant, the case may be dismissed as to that defendant
upon motion or on the court’s own initiative, without prejudice.
(3) If an attorney fails to reasonably comply with any
provision of this rule, or if an attorney or a party fails to comply with an
order entered pursuant to subsection (d) of this rule, the court, upon motion
or upon its own initiative, shall impose upon a party or his attorney, or both,
appropriate sanctions in regard to the failure(s) as are just, including the
following:
(A) Any of the sanctions available pursuant to Rule
37(b)(2);
(B) An order prohibiting the use of any witness,
document or tangible thing which should have been disclosed, produced,
exhibited, or exchanged pursuant to subdivision (b) of this rule.
(4) Should it appear to the satisfaction of the court
at any time that an objection under subsection (c)(3) of this rule to the
authenticity or genuineness of a document was made in violation of Rule 11, the
court shall forthwith order the party or his attorney, or both, to pay to the
other party the reasonable expenses caused by the objection, including
reasonable attorney’s fees.
(f) Complex Litigation. In a potentially
difficult or protracted action that may involve complex issues, multiple
parties, difficult legal questions, or unusual proof problems, the court may,
upon motion and for good cause shown, waive any or all of the requirements of
this rule. If the court waives all the requirements of this rule, it shall also
order a conference pursuant to Rule 16.
(g) Proper Person Litigants. When a party is
not represented by an attorney, the party must comply with this rule.
