In any action, the court may in its discretion direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before it for a conference to consider:
Rule 16.Pretrial Procedure; Formulated Issues
Last amended March 1, 1997 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 16 lets a court call a pretrial conference to narrow the issues, streamline proof, and set the terms that will govern the rest of the case.
Full Text of Rule 16
(1) The simplification of issues;
(2) The necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings;
(3) The possibility of obtaining admissions of act and of documents which will avoid unnecessary proof;
(4) The limitation of the number of expert witnesses;
(5) The advisability of a preliminary reference of issues to a master;
(6) The possibility of settlement or, pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 16-7-202, the use of extrajudicial procedures, including mediation, to resolve the dispute;
(7) Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the action.
The court shall make an order which recites the action taken at the conference, the amendments allowed to the pleadings 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; and such order, when entered, controls the subsequent course of the action, unless modified at the trial to prevent manifest injustice. The court in its discretion may establish by rule a pre-trial calendar on which actions may be placed for consideration as above provided and may either confine the calendar to jury actions or to non-jury actions or extend it to all actions.
Amendment History
Amended November 18, 1996, effective March 1, 1997.
Reporter's Notes
Reporter’s Notes to Rule 16: 1. Rule 16 is essentially the same as FRCP 16. The only change from the Federal Rule is found in Section (5). Under Rule 53, a master is not permitted in jury actions; hence, the minor wording change. This rule is substantially the same as superseded Ark. Stat. Ann. § 27-2401 (Repl. 1962), which was patterned after FRCP 16.
2. Omitted from Rule 16 is Section (d) of Ark. Stat. Ann. § 27-2401 (Repl. 1962). Motions or applications for the production of documents are matters which should be considered under Rule 34. Also, any unresolved questions concerning documents may be considered by the court and the parties under Rule 16 (3). Overall, this rule should have little effect on prior Arkansas law.
Addition to Reporter’s Notes, 1997 Amendment: Former paragraph (6) has been redesignated as paragraph (7) and a new paragraph (6) added to mention the possibility of settlement and the use of extrajudicial procedures, such as mediation. The amended rule, based on a similar provision in the Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure, recognizes that pretrial conferences can be profitably used to discuss settlement. Since it eases congested court dockets and results in savings to litigants and the judicial system, settlement should be facilitated at as early a stage in the litigation as possible. However, settlement conferences are not mandatory and would be a waste of time in many cases. In addition to settlement, paragraph (6) refers to exploring the use of alternative means of dispute resolution, such as mediation, in accordance with Ark. Code Ann. § 16-7-202.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 16 hands the trial judge a tool, not a mandate. The court may direct the lawyers to appear for a conference, but nothing forces it to. When a conference happens, the rule lists the kinds of housekeeping it can cover: trimming down the issues in dispute, weighing whether the pleadings need amending, exploring what facts and documents the parties can agree on so nobody wastes time proving the undisputed, capping the number of expert witnesses, and considering whether a master should look at particular issues before trial. The list closes with a catch-all for anything else that would help move the case toward resolution, including settlement or referral to mediation and similar extrajudicial procedures.
Whatever comes out of the conference gets written down. The court enters an order recording what was decided -- which amendments were allowed, what the parties agreed to, and which issues remain for trial. That order then controls how the case proceeds unless the trial judge later modifies it to prevent manifest injustice, a standard set deliberately high so that pretrial agreements hold up rather than becoming a moving target. Courts may also set up a standing pretrial calendar and can restrict it to jury cases, non-jury cases, or apply it across the board.
The settlement and mediation language was added to make explicit what many judges were already doing: using the pretrial conference as a moment to gauge whether a case needs to go to trial at all. Nothing in the rule forces the parties into a settlement discussion, and a conference used that way remains within the court's discretion like every other application of Rule 16.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a pretrial conference mandatory in Arkansas civil cases?
No. Rule 16 says the court "may in its discretion" direct the attorneys to appear for a conference. Some courts hold them routinely and some do not; the rule leaves that choice to the judge.
What can happen at a Rule 16 pretrial conference?
The court and the lawyers can narrow the issues still in dispute, discuss amending the pleadings, work out which facts or documents both sides will accept without formal proof, limit the number of expert witnesses, consider referring some issues to a master, and discuss settlement or mediation. The list closes with a catch-all for anything else that would help move the case toward resolution.
Once the court enters a pretrial order, can the issues still change at trial?
Only if the court modifies the order to prevent manifest injustice. Otherwise, the pretrial order controls the subsequent course of the case, including which issues remain for trial.
Does Rule 16 require the parties to attempt settlement or mediation?
No. The rule lists settlement and extrajudicial dispute resolution procedures, including mediation, as topics the conference may address, but neither a settlement conference nor mediation is mandatory under the rule itself.
Source & verification. Rule text, Reporter's Notes, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, prescribed by
the Arkansas Supreme Court. The plain-English summary is original and written by us.
Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: pretrial conference Arkansasformulated issuespretrial orderscheduling conferenceARCP 16