The case management conference must be conducted in the manner provided by local rule. The court must enter a case management order setting a schedule for subsequent proceedings and otherwise providing for the management of the case. The order may include appropriate provisions, such as:
Rule 3.728.Case management order
Division 7. Civil Case Management · Chapter 3. Case Management · Adopted 2007 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceRule 3.728 requires the court, after conducting the case management conference according to local rule, to enter a case management order that sets a schedule for the case and may cover matters such as ADR referral, the trial date, jury designation, trial counsel, and settlement conference dates.
Full Text of Rule 3.728
(1) Referral of the case to judicial arbitration or other alternative dispute resolution process;
(2) A date for completion of the judicial arbitration process or other alternative dispute resolution process if the case has been referred to such a process;
(3) In the event that a trial date has not previously been set, a date certain for trial if the case is ready to be set for trial;
(4) Whether the trial will be a jury trial or a nonjury trial;
(5) The identity of each party demanding a jury trial;
(6) The estimated length of trial;
(7) Whether all parties necessary to the disposition of the case have been served or have appeared;
(8) The dismissal or severance of unserved or not-appearing defendants from the action;
(9) The names and addresses of the attorneys who will try the case;
(11) The date, time, and place for the final case management conference before trial if such a conference is required by the court or the judge assigned to the case;
(12) The date, time, and place of any further case management conferences or review; and
Plain-English Summary
How a case management conference is run is left to local rule, so the format varies somewhat from courthouse to courthouse. What isn’t left to local variation is the outcome: rule 3.728 requires the court to enter a case management order once the conference ends, setting a schedule for what comes next and otherwise managing the case going forward.
The rule then lists what that order may include, and the list tracks the ground the conference is meant to cover. It can refer the case to judicial arbitration or another ADR process and set a completion date; set a trial date if one hasn’t already been set, along with whether the trial will be a jury or nonjury trial, who’s demanding a jury, and the estimated length; address whether all necessary parties have been served or appeared, including dismissing or severing those who haven’t; name the attorneys who will try the case; and set the date, time, and place for a mandatory settlement conference under rule 3.1380 and for any further or final case management conferences.
That list is illustrative, not exhaustive — the order can also include any additional orders appropriate under rules 3.724 and 3.727. What’s fixed is the obligation to issue an order at all; what goes inside it is shaped by what the particular case needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a California court required to issue a case management order?
Yes. Rule 3.728 requires the court to enter one after every case management conference or review.
What can a California case management order include?
Among other things, an ADR referral and deadline, the trial date and jury designation, service status, the names of trial counsel, and dates for a settlement conference and further conferences.
Does rule 3.728 set the format of the case management conference itself?
No. The conference itself is conducted as provided by local rule; rule 3.728 addresses what the resulting order must do.
How does the case management order relate to a mandatory settlement conference?
The order may set the date, time, and place for a mandatory settlement conference under rule 3.1380.
Amendment History
Rule 3.728 adopted effective January 1, 2007.
Source & verification. Rule text is reproduced verbatim from
the Judicial Council of California. Adopted by the Judicial Council of California.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
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