PRE-TRIAL – A mandatory conference and

personal confrontation before the judge between

the parties litigant and their respective counsels,
called by the court after the joinder of issue or
after the last pleading has been filed and before
trial, for the purpose of settling the litigation
expeditiously or simplifying the issues without
sacrificing the necessary demands of justice.
NATURE AND PURPOSE: Rule 18, Sec. 2
(ASAONPSSO)
 Possibility of an Amicable settlement or of
a submission to an alternative mode of dispute
resolution;
 Simplification of issues;
 Necessity/desirability of Amendments to
the pleadings;
 Possibility of Obtaining stipulations or
admissions of facts and of documents to avoid
unnecessary proof;
 Limitation of Number of witnesses;
 Advisability of a Preliminary reference to a
commissioner;
 Propriety of rendering judgment on the
pleadings, or Summary judgment, or of
dismissing the action should a valid ground
therefor be found to exist’
 Advisability/necessity of Suspending the
proceedings; and
 Other matters that may aid in the prompt
disposition of the action.
WHEN CONDUCTED? Rule 18,Sec.1
After the Last Pleading(may be plaintiff’s reply)
has been filed and served, upon motion ex parte
by the plaintiff.
NOTICE OF PRE-TRIAL TO WHOM SHALL BE
SERVED? (Rule 18, Sec. 3)
 On counsel or on the party who has no
counsel. Counsel has a duty to notify the
party he represents

Rule 18, Sec. 4:

GNR: It shall be the duty of the parties and their
counsel to appear at the pre-trial.
EXPN: A Valid Cause is shown or a
Representative appears in his behalf, fully
authorized in writing:
 To enter into an amicable settlement;
 To submit to an alternative modes of dispute
resolution; and
 To enter into stipulations/admissions of facts
and of documents.

FAILURE TO APPEAR AT THE PRE-TRIAL (R18,s5)

Who fails to Effect
 appear
Plaintiff Cause for dismissal of the action
which will be with prejudice, unless
otherwise ordered by the court.
Defendant Cause to allow plaintiff to present
evidence ex parte, and court to
render judgment on the basis
thereof.
RULE 9, Sec. 3 Vs. RULE 18, Sec. 5
Default by defendant As in default (failure to appear
by the plaintiff) Rule 18, Sec. 5
Rule 9, Sec. 3
Upon motion and notice Not required
to defendant
Requires proof of failure Not required
to answer
Court to render Court to allow plaintiff
judgment, unless it to present evidence ex
requires submission of parte, then the court
evidence shall render judgment
Relief awarded must be Relief awarded may be
the same in nature and of different nature and
amount as prayed for in amount from the relief
the complaint prayed for.
PRE-TRIAL BRIEF’S CONTENTS(R18,Sc.6)
 Statement of their willingness to enter
into amicable settlement or ADR,
indicating the desired terms thereof;
 Summary of admitted facts and
proposed stipulation of facts;
 Issues to be tried/resolved;
 Documents/exhibits to be presented,
stating the purpose thereof;
 Manifestation of their having availed or
their intention to avail themselves of
discovery procedures or referral to
commissioners;
 Number and names of the witnesses,
and the substance of their respective
testimonies.
NOTE: Parties shall file and serve their
respective pre-trial briefs, ensuring
receipt by adverse party at least 3 DAYS
before the date of the pre-trial.
NOTE: Failure to file the pre-trial brief
shall have the same effect as failure to
appear at the pre-trial.
NOTE: Pre-trial proceedings shall be
recorded. Upon termination of the same,
court shall issue pre-trial order which shall
recite in details the matters taken up in
the conference; action taken thereon;
amendments allowed on the pleadings;
agreements/admissions made by the
parties as to any matters considered;
should the action proceed to trial, the
explicit definition and limit of the issues
to be tried.
 Contents of the order shall control the
subsequent course of the action, unless
modified before trial to prevent
manifest injustice.
REQUISITES FOR INTERVENTION(R19,Sc.2)
 By a motion to intervene,
 With the pleading-in-intervention
attached,
 Must serve copy of the pleading-in-
intervention for the original parties.
GNR: Allowance of intervention is
discretionary with the court.
EXPN: When the intervenor is an
INDISPENSABLE PARTY.