Rule 135.Joint Final Pretrial Statement

Last verified July 8, 2026

In one sentenceRule 135 requires all parties to confer and file, by a court-set date, a joint final pretrial statement covering stipulated facts, disputed factual and legal issues, confidentiality matters, exhibit and witness and expert lists, deposition designations, trial-length estimates, motions in limine topics, proposed voir dire, jury instructions, and a verdict form, with the plaintiff primarily responsible for coordinating the meeting and filing.

Full Text of Rule 135

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(a) Conference of Parties. By a date established by the court, all parties shall confer for the purpose of discussing, agreeing upon, preparing, signing and filing a joint final pretrial statement in conformity with the requirements of this Rule. The filing of the joint final pretrial statement constitutes a representation to the court by all of the parties that they or their representatives at the meeting were fully vested to discuss and agree upon all of the matters set forth in Rule 135(b); they have in fact discussed and attempted in good faith to reach agreement on each of those matters; and the case is ready for trial.

(b) Joint Final Pretrial Statement. The joint final pretrial statement shall include the following, which will be considered by the court at the pretrial conference and may be incorporated into a pretrial order issued by the court:

(1) stipulated facts;

(2) all factual issues in dispute;

(3) all legal issues;

(4) all issues regarding the use of information or materials designated as confidential;

(5) each party’s list of exhibits;

(6) each party’s list of witnesses;

(7) each party’s list of experts;

(8) depositions, or portions thereof, to be used in lieu of live testimony;

(9) estimated length of trial;

(10) subject matter of potential motions in limine;

(11) proposed voir dire questions;

(12) proposed jury instructions; and

(13) proposed verdict form.

(c) Deadline for Filing Joint Final Pretrial Statement. The parties shall file the joint final pretrial statement by a date established by the court. The plaintiff shall have primary responsibility for coordinating the meeting between the parties and filing the joint final pretrial statement and related material. If the plaintiff is unable to timely comply with this requirement, plaintiff shall notify the court in writing of the reasons therefor and request a status conference. Last reviewed and edited June 24, 2014 Effective September 1, 2014

End

Plain-English Summary

By a date the court sets, all parties confer to discuss, agree on, prepare, sign, and file a joint final pretrial statement. Filing it represents to the court that everyone at the meeting had full authority to discuss and agree on the statement's contents, that they made a good-faith attempt to reach agreement on each item, and that the case is ready for trial.

The statement covers stipulated facts, disputed factual issues, legal issues, issues about the use of confidential information or materials, each party's exhibit list, witness list, and expert list, depositions or portions to be used instead of live testimony, an estimated trial length, subjects for potential motions in limine, proposed voir dire questions, proposed jury instructions, and a proposed verdict form; the court considers all of it at the pretrial conference and may fold it into a pretrial order. The plaintiff has primary responsibility for coordinating the parties' meeting and filing the statement and related material by the court's deadline; if the plaintiff can't meet that deadline, the plaintiff must notify the court in writing of the reason and request a status conference.

Frequently Asked Questions

What must be in a Maine BCD joint final pretrial statement?

Stipulated facts, disputed factual and legal issues, confidentiality issues, exhibit and witness and expert lists, deposition designations, a trial-length estimate, motion-in-limine topics, proposed voir dire, jury instructions, and a verdict form.

Who is responsible for filing the joint final pretrial statement?

The plaintiff has primary responsibility for coordinating the parties' meeting and filing the statement; if unable to meet the deadline, the plaintiff must notify the court in writing and request a status conference.

Source & verification. The rule text and Advisory Committee’s Notes / Reporter’s Notes are reproduced verbatim from the official Maine Rules of Civil Procedure (Me. R. Civ. P. 135), prescribed by the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (4 M.R.S. § 8, the Rules Enabling Act). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: joint final pretrial statement MaineBCD pretrial statement requirements