Administrative Rules of Montana
Department 24 - LABOR AND INDUSTRY
Chapter 24.5 - OFFICE OF THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION JUDGE
Subchapter 24.5.3 - Procedural Rules
Rule 24.5.318 - PRETRIAL CONFERENCE, PRETRIAL ORDER, AND EXHIBITS
Universal Citation: MT Admin Rules 24.5.318
Current through Register Vol. 18, September 20, 2024
(1) The court holds a pretrial conference in every case it expects to proceed to trial.
(a) Generally, the pretrial conference takes
place 2 weeks before trial .
(b)
The parties shall present any disputes regarding the content of the pretrial
order at the pretrial conference.
(c) The court appoints a hearing examiner to
conduct the pretrial conference and delegates authority to the hearing examiner
to rule on all matters discussed at the pretrial conference, including pretrial
motions of the parties.
(d) The
court may conduct a pretrial conference by phone.
(2) The court requires a pretrial order as follows:
(a) At least one week prior to the
pretrial conference, the parties shall confer to determine the contents of the
pretrial order. The petitioner, or, in cases involving a pro sé
petitioner, the respondent, shall include the following in the pretrial order:
(i) a statement of jurisdiction pursuant to
the appropriate statutes;
(ii) a
list of all pending motions;
(iii)
any uncontested facts;
(iv) any
stipulations between the parties;
(v) a joint statement of the issues to be
determined by the court;
(vi) the
parties' contentions, including contentions that the claimant argues provide a
basis for a claim of unreasonableness on the part of the insurer;
(vii) a list of all exhibits to be offered by
each party on an attached exhibit list;
(viii) a list of all witnesses, including the
name, address, and occupation of each witness, and a summary of the subject
matter on which the parties expect each witness to testify;
(ix) any unusual legal or evidentiary
issues;.
(x) the estimated length
of trial;
(xi) a statement as to
whether the parties intend to file trial briefs and/or proposed findings of
fact and conclusions of law;
(xii)
a statement as to whether the parties have taken or scheduled depositions;
and
(xiii) the trial date, if
known.
(b) By the dates
specified by the court, the petitioner, or, in cases involving a pro sé
petitioner, the respondent, shall submit the proposed and final pretrial orders
in the form set forth in ARM 24.5.318(2)(a)(i) through (xiii). The court
considers pretrial orders submitted by fax or e-mail attachment compliant with
the submission deadlines.
(c) The
parties shall sign the final pretrial order at trial. Upon the judge's
signature, the court files the final pretrial order, which supersedes all other
pleadings and governs the trial proceedings. The court allows amendments to the
final pretrial order either by stipulation of the parties or for good
cause.
(3) The court adheres to the following exhibit rules:
(a)
The parties shall prepare any exhibits as follows:
(i) Prior to the pretrial conference, the
respondent shall provide to the petitioner sufficient copies for all parties of
every exhibit that the respondent intends to offer for admission, including
deposition exhibits. The respondent shall separate and number each exhibit, and
number the pages within each exhibit (for example, Ex. 1-1). In the case of a
pro sé petitioner, the pro sé petitioner shall provide the
respondent with sufficient copies for all parties of every exhibit that the
petitioner intends to offer for admission, including deposition exhibits. The
pro sé petitioner shall separate and number each exhibit, and number the
pages within each exhibit (for example, Ex. 1-1).
(ii) The parties may not submit duplicate
exhibits unless the duplicate exhibit is imperative to the understanding of the
subject records or, in the case of medical records, one provider is relying on
the records of another provider.
(b) The parties shall prepare an exhibit list
as follows:
(i) For each exhibit, the
petitioner, or, in cases involving a pro sé petitioner, the respondent,
shall set forth the following in the exhibit list:
(A) the exhibit number;
(B) a description of the exhibit;
(C) the number of pages in the
exhibit;
(D) the offering
party;
(E) whether any other party
objects to the exhibit;
(F) the
grounds upon which any objecting party bases the objection(s); and
(G) a blank column reserved for the court's
decision on the admissibility of the exhibit.
(ii) The petitioner, or in cases involving a
pro sé petitioner, the respondent, shall revise all copies of the
exhibit list as necessary to reflect changes or additions requested by the
court or agreed to by the parties at the pretrial conference.
(c) The parties shall prepare an
exhibit book as follows:
(i) The petitioner,
or, in cases involving a pro sé petitioner, the respondent, shall
prepare the exhibit book, including:
(A)
verifying that all parties' exhibits and their pages are numbered;
(B) combining and tabbing the exhibits;
(C) either binding the exhibits or
placing them in a three-ring notebook; and
(D) including the exhibit list in the front
of each exhibit book.
(ii) By a date specified by the court, the
petitioner, or, in cases involving a pro sé petitioner, the respondent,
shall:
(A) file the exhibit book by mail or
hand delivery;
(B) provide
conformed copies of the exhibit book to all parties at the time of
filing;
(C) bring to trial a
conformed exhibit book for any witness testifying live; and
(D) provide a conformed exhibit book to any
witness testifying via videoconference.
(iii) The court may refuse to accept exhibits
that do not meet these criteria and/or may order resubmission of the exhibits
in the correct format.
AUTH: 2-4-201, MCA; IMP: 2-4-201, 39-71-2901, MCA
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Montana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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