Rule 16 CASE MANAGEMENT AND TRIAL MANAGEMENT.

• Jurisdiction: Colorado

Rule 16. Case Management and Trial Management.

(a) Purpose and Scope. The purpose of this Rule 16 is to establish a uniform, court-supervised procedure involving case management which encourages professionalism and cooperation among counsel and parties to facilitate disclosure, discovery, pretrial and trial procedures. This Rule shall govern case management in all district court civil cases except as provided herein. This Rule shall not apply to domestic relations, juvenile, mental health, probate, water court proceedings subject to sections 37-92-302 to 37-92-305, C.R.S., forcible entry and detainer, C.R.C.P. 106 and 120, and other similar expedited proceedings, unless otherwise ordered by the court or stipulated by the parties. This Rule 16 also shall not apply to civil actions that are governed by Simplified Procedure under C.R.C.P. 16.1, except as specifically provided in Rule 16.1. The disclosures and information required to be included in both the Case Management and Trial Management Orders interrelate to discovery authorized by these rules. The right of discovery shall not constitute grounds for failing to timely disclose information required by this Rule, nor shall this Rule constitute a ground for failing to timely disclose any information sought pursuant to discovery.

(b) Case Management Order. Not later than 42 days after the case is at issue and at least 7 days before the case management conference, the parties shall file, in editable format, a proposed Case Management Order consisting of the matters set forth in subsections (1)-(17) of this section and take the necessary actions to comply with those subsections. This proposed order, when approved by the court, shall constitute the Case Management Order and shall control the course of the action from the time the case is at issue until otherwise required pursuant to section (f) of this Rule or unless modified upon a showing of good cause. Use of the "Proposed Case Management Order" in the form and content of Appendix to Chapters 1 to 17A, form (JDF 622), shall comply with this section.

(1) At Issue Date. A case shall be deemed at issue when all parties have been served and all pleadings permitted by C.R.C.P. 7 have been filed or defaults or dismissals have been entered against all non-appearing parties, or at such other time as the court may direct. The proposed order shall state the at issue date.

(2) Responsible Attorney. The responsible attorney shall mean plaintiffs counsel, if the plaintiff is represented by counsel, or if not, the defense counsel who first enters an appearance in the case. The responsible attorney shall schedule conferences among the parties, and prepare and submit the Proposed Case Management Order and Trial Management Order. The proposed order shall identify the responsible attorney and provide that attorney's contact information.

(3) Meet and Confer. No later than 14 days after the case is at issue, lead counsel for each party and any party who is not represented by counsel shall confer with each other in person, by telephone, or video conference about:

(A) the nature and basis of the claims and defenses;

(B) the matters to be disclosed pursuant to C.R.C.P. 26 (a)(1);

(C) the Proposed Case Management Order;

(D) mutually agreeable dates for the case management conference; and

(E) based thereon shall obtain from the court a date for the case management conference.

The proposed order shall state the date of and identify the attendees at any meet and confer conferences.

(4) Description of the Case. The proposed order shall provide a brief description of the case and identification of the issues to be tried. The description of the case and identification of the issues to be tried shall consist of not more than one page, double-spaced, per side.

(5) Pending Motions. The proposed order shall list all pending motions that have been filed and are unresolved. The court may decide any unresolved motion at the case management conference.

(6) Evaluation of Proportionality Factors. The proposed order shall provide a brief assessment of each party's position on the application of any factors to be considered in determining proportionality, including those factors identified in C.R.C.P. 26 (b)(1).

(7) Initial Exploration of Prompt Settlement and Prospects for Settlement. The proposed order shall confirm that the possibility of settlement was discussed, describe the prospects for settlement and list proposed dates for any agreed upon or court-ordered mediation or other alternative dispute resolution.

(8) Proposed Deadlines for Amendments. The proposed order shall provide proposed deadlines for amending or supplementing pleadings and for joinder of additional parties, which unless otherwise provided by law, shall be not later than 105 days (15 weeks) after the case is at issue, and shall provide a deadline for identification of non-parties at fault, if any, pursuant to C.R.S. § 13-21-111.5.

(9) Disclosures. The proposed order shall state the dates when disclosures under C.R.C.P. 26 (a)(1) were made and exchanged and describe any objections to the adequacy of the initial disclosures.

(10) Computation and Discovery Relating to Damages. If any party asserts an inability to disclose fully the information on damages required by C.R.C.P. 26 (a)(1)(C), the proposed order shall include a brief statement of the reasons for that party's inability as well as the expected timing of full disclosure and completion of discovery on damages.

(11) Discovery Limits and Schedule. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, discovery shall be limited to that allowed by C.R.C.P. 26 (b)(2). Discovery may commence as provided in C.R.C.P. 26 (d) upon service of the Case Management Order. The deadline for completion of all discovery, including discovery responses, shall be not later than 49 days before the trial date. The proposed order shall state any modifications to the amounts of discovery permitted in C.R.C.P. 26 (b)(2), including limitations of awardable costs, and the justification for such modifications consistent with the proportionality factors in C.R.C.P. 26 (b)(1).

(12) Subjects for Expert Testimony. The proposed order shall identify the subject areas about which the parties anticipate offering expert testimony; whether that testimony would be from an expert defined in C.R.C.P. 26 (a)(2)(B)(I) or in 26 (a)(2)(B)(II); and, if more than one expert as defined in C.R.C.P. 26 (a)(2)(B)(I) per subject per side is anticipated, the proposed order shall set forth good cause for such additional expert or experts consistent with the proportionality factors in C.R.C.P. 26 (b)(1) and considering any differences among the positions of multiple parties on the same side as to experts.

(13) Proposed Deadlines for Expert Disclosures. If any party desires proposed deadlines for expert disclosures other than those in C.R.C.P. 26 (a)(2)(C), the proposed order shall explain the justification for such modifications.

(14) Oral Discovery Motions. The proposed order shall state whether the court does or does not require discovery motions to be presented orally, without written motions or briefs, and may include such other provisions as the court deems appropriate.

(15) Electronically Stored Information. If the parties anticipate needing to discover a significant amount of electronically stored information, the parties shall discuss and include in the proposed order a brief statement concerning their agreements relating to search terms to be used, if any, and the production, continued preservation, and restoration of electronically stored information, including the form in which it is to be produced and an estimate of the attendant costs. If the parties are unable to agree, the proposed order shall include a brief statement of their positions.

(16) Trial Date and Estimated Length of Trial. The proposed order shall provide the parties' best estimate of the time required for probable completion of discovery and of the length of the trial. The court shall include the trial date in the Case Management Order, unless the court uses a different trial setting procedure.

(17) Other Appropriate Matters. The proposed order shall describe other matters any party wishes to bring to the court's attention at the case management conference.

(18) Notices of Related Cases. The proposed order shall state whether any notices of related cases, pursuant to Rule 121, Section 1-9, have been filed.

(19) Entry of Case Management Order. The proposed order shall be signed by lead counsel for each party and by each party who is not represented by counsel. After the court's review and revision of any provision in the proposed order, it shall be entered as an order of the court and served on all parties.

(c) Pretrial Motions. Unless otherwise ordered by the court, pretrial motions, including motions in limine, shall be filed no later than 35 days before the trial date, except for motions pursuant to C.R.C.P. 56, which must be filed no later than 91 days (13 weeks) before the trial and except for motions challenging the admissibility of expert testimony pursuant to C.R.E. 702, which must be filed no later than 70 days (10 weeks) before the trial.

(d) Case Management Conference.

(1) The responsible attorney shall schedule the case management conference to be held no later than 49 days after the case is at issue, and shall provide notice of the conference to all parties.

(2) Lead counsel and unrepresented parties, if any, shall attend the case management conference in person, except as provided in subsection (d)(3) of this Rule. The court may permit the parties and/or counsel to attend the conference and any subsequent conferences by telephone. At that conference, the parties and counsel shall be prepared to discuss the proposed order, issues requiring resolution, and any special circumstances of the case.

(3) If all parties are represented by counsel, counsel may timely submit a proposed order and may jointly request...