MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Mike Hagburg
RE: Rule 16, N.D.R.Civ.P., Pretrial Conferences, Scheduling, Management
At its January meeting, the Committee voted to send Mr. Kapsner and Mr. Kuntz to the Supreme Court's hearing on proposed changes to Rule 16. Mr. Kapsner spoke for the Committee at the hearing. He urged the Court to allow a group containing representatives from this Committee, the Case Flow Management Committee and the Court Administrator's office an opportunity to meet to reexamine the proposed changes to Rule 16 and to find an improved solution through consensus.
The Court adopted the proposed amendments to Rule 16 in an order dated March 1, 2004. A copy of the order and the approved amendments to Rule 16 is attached. In addition to the proposals the Court had previously circulated, it reacted to concerns expressed at the hearing by adding a provision specifically allowing scheduling hearings to be conducted by telephone or other electronic means.
While the Court did not grant the Committee's request that a group take another look at the rule, the Court did place a delayed effective date of August 1, 2004, on the rule. The Chief Justice suggested that if anyone wanted to suggest additional changes to Rule 16, they could submit a petition as allowed by Section 3 of the Rule on Procedural Rules.