Pre-Trial Procedures and Case Management
Pre-trial procedure
This domain tests how a case is moved from pleadings to trial. Examiners focus on case-management orders, timetables, pre-trial conferences, mandatory mediation, summary judgment and the consequences of delay.
Core rules
- Courts increasingly manage cases actively through timetables, status hearings and unless orders. Missing a deadline can lead to dismissal, costs or an order requiring compliance.
- A pre-trial conference narrows issues, explores settlement and sets trial readiness. Parties must have authority to settle and must file pre-trial memoranda where required.
- Summary judgment is available where there is no genuine issue requiring a trial. The motion judge may weigh evidence, but must not make findings on contested credibility without a trial.
- Many jurisdictions require mandatory mediation or a settlement conference before trial. Offers to settle made at this stage can affect later costs.
Worked example
A plaintiff moves for summary judgment in a contract case. The only dispute is the interpretation of a written clause; both parties agree on the facts. The court grants summary judgment because the issue is a legal question and no trial is needed. If credibility were contested, the motion would likely fail.
Traps
- Treating a pre-trial conference as the trial itself.
- Filing late expert reports without seeking leave.
- Moving for summary judgment on a disputed factual record.
- Failing to attend a case-management hearing, risking dismissal.