2021 Georgia Code
Title 9 - Civil Practice
Chapter 11 - Civil Practice Act
Article 3 - Pleadings and Motions
§ 9-11-16. Pretrial Procedure; Formulating Issues; Order; Calendar

1. Upon the motion of any party, or upon its own motion, the court shall direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before it for a conference to consider:
   1. The simplification of the issues;
   2. The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;
   3. The possibility of obtaining admissions of fact and of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof;
   4. The limitation of the number of expert witnesses; and
   5. Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the action.
2. The court shall make an order which recites the action taken at the conference and the agreements made by the parties as to any of the matters considered and which limits the issues for trial to those not disposed of by admissions or agreements of counsel. The order, when entered, controls the subsequent course of the action unless modified at the trial to prevent manifest injustice.After entry of the pretrial order, it shall be within the discretion of the court to permit or disallow the presentation of testimony from any expert witness whose name is not contained in the pretrial order; provided, however, that if the additional expert witness is permitted to testify, any opposing party shall be permitted reasonable time to take the deposition of the additional expert witness.The court, in its discretion, may establish by rule a pretrial calendar on which actions may be placed for consideration as provided in subsection (a) of this Code section and may either confine the calendar to jury actions or to nonjury actions or extend it to all actions.

(Ga. L. 1966, p. 609, § 16; Ga. L. 1967, p. 226, § 10; Ga. L. 1968, p. 1104, § 5; Ga. L. 1993, p. 91, § 9; Ga. L. 2002, p. 1244, § 1.1.)

- Pre-trial conferences, Uniform Superior Court Rules, Rule 7.

Civil jury trial calendar, Uniform Superior Court Rules, Rule 8.

Pre-trial conferences in probate court proceedings, Uniform Rules for the Probate Courts, Rule 7.

- For provisions of Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 16, see 28 U.S.C.

- For article, "Pre-Trial Conference," see 4 Mercer L. Rev. 302 (1953). For article, "Synopses of 1968 Amendments to the Appellate Procedure Act and Georgia Civil Practice Act," see 4 Ga. St. B.J. 503 (1968). For article surveying developments in Georgia trial practice and procedure from mid-1980 through mid-1981, see 33 Mercer L. Rev. 275 (1981). For annual survey of trial practice and procedure, see 40 Mercer L. Rev. 423 (1988). For survey article on evidence law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 135 (2008).

ANALYSIS

• General Consideration
• Issues
• Witnesses

RESEARCH REFERENCES

Am. Jur. 2d.

- 23 Am. Jur. 2d, Depositions and Discovery, §§ 10, 197. 62 Am. Jur. 2d, Pretrial Conference and Procedure, §§ 1, 2, 7 et seq.

20A Am. Jur. Pleading and Practice Forms, Pretrial Conference and Procedure, § 1.

- 35B C.J.S., Federal Civil Procedure, § 926 et seq. 88 C.J.S., Trial, §§ 7, 8, 53 et seq.

- Effect upon disposition of the cause of the insufficiency of the agreed statement of facts to warrant a judgment for the party having the affirmative, 97 A.L.R. 301.

Judicial stipulation or formal admission of facts by counsel as available upon a subsequent trial, 100 A.L.R. 775.

Pretrial conference procedure as affecting right to discovery, 161 A.L.R. 1151.

Power of court to adopt general rule requiring pretrial conference as distinguished from exercising its discretion in each case separately, 2 A.L.R.2d 1061.

Binding effect of court's order entered after pretrial conference, 22 A.L.R.2d 599.

Statements of parties or witnesses as subject of pretrial or other disclosure, production, or inspection, 73 A.L.R.2d 12.

Propriety and effect of permitting counsel having burden of issues in civil case to argue new matter or points in his closing summation, 93 A.L.R.2d 273.

Trial court's appointment, in civil case, of expert witness, 95 A.L.R.2d 390.

Appealability of order entered in connection with pretrial conference, 95 A.L.R.2d 1361.

Validity and construction of state court's pretrial order precluding publicity or comment about pending case by counsel, parties, or witnesses, 33 A.L.R.3d 1041.

Assertion of privilege in pretrial discovery proceedings as precluding waiver of privilege at trial, 36 A.L.R.3d 1367.

Failure of party or his attorney to appear at pretrial conference, 55 A.L.R.3d 303.

Propriety of allowing state court civil litigant to call expert witness whose name or address was not disclosed during pretrial discovery proceedings, 58 A.L.R.4th 653.

Propriety of allowing state court civil litigant to call nonexpert witness whose name or address was not disclosed during pretrial discovery proceedings, 63 A.L.R.4th 712.