11 NCAC 23A .0610         Pre-Trial Agreement

(a)  A Pre-Trial Agreement shall be signed by the attorneys and filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule .0108 of this Subchapter 10 days before the hearing, unless a shorter time period is ordered upon agreement of the parties.

(b)  The Pre-Trial Agreement shall be prepared in a form that conforms to the Order on Final Pre-Trial Conference adopted in the North Carolina Rules of Practice for the Superior and District Courts. Should the parties fail to comply with a Pre-Trial Order, the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner shall remove the case from the hearing docket if required in the interests of justice or to promote judicial economy. Should the parties comply with the Pre-Trial Order after the removal of the case, the Pre-Trial Agreement shall be directed to the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner who removed the case from the docket and filed in accordance with Rule .0108 of this Subchapter. The Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner shall order the case returned to the hearing docket as if a Request for Hearing had been filed on the date of the Order to return the case to the hearing docket. No new Form 33 Request that Claim be Assigned for Hearing is required.

(c)  If the parties need a conference, a Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner shall order the parties to participate in a pre-trial conference. This conference shall be conducted at such place and by such method as the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner deems appropriate in the interests of justice or judicial economy, including conference telephone calls.

(d)  Any party may request a pre-trial conference to aid in settling the case or resolving contested issues prior to trial. Requests for such pre-trial conferences shall be directed to the Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner before whom the claim has been calendared.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 97-80(a); 97-80(b); 97-83;

Eff. January 1, 1990;

Amended Eff. February 1, 2016; November 1, 2014; January 1, 2011; June 1, 2000; March 15, 1995;

Recodified from 04 NCAC 10A .0610 Eff. June 1, 2018;

Amended Eff. December 1, 2018.