In any action, the court may on the application of any party or on its own initiative direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before it for a conference to consider
Rule 16.Pretrial procedure; formulating issues
Group III: Pleadings and Motions · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 16 lets a court call a pretrial conference, on its own motion or a party's, to simplify the issues, encourage admissions, limit expert witnesses, and issue an order that then controls the rest of the case.
Full Text of Rule 16
(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;
(5) The advisability of a preliminary reference of issues to a master for findings to be used as evidence when the trial is to be by jury;
(6) Such other matters as may aid in the disposition of the action. The court shall make an order consistent with the record of the conference 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.
Notes
Reporter’s Notes: This rule is substantially identical to Federal Rule 16. Former County Court Rule 4.1, applicable in chancery under former Chancery Rule 56, provided for a pre-trial conference in terms quite similar to those of the federal rule, except that the Vermont rule did not require issuance of a pre-trial order that would thereafter control the course of the trial. Such orders have been recognized and given controlling effect in the cases, however. See Farr v. State Highway Board, 123 Vt. 334, 189 A.2d 542 (1962); Whitmore v. Mutual Life Ins. Co. of N.Y., 122 Vt. 328, 173 A.2d 584 (1961). Note that the conference is discretionary with the court and may be allowed on motion as under the former rule. Once a conference is held, however, issuance of the pre-trial order is mandatory. The rule requires that the order be based on the record of the conference, which means that a stenographer should be present.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 16 hands the trial court a tool rather than a mandate. Either party may ask for a pretrial conference, or the court may call one on its own, to bring the attorneys together and work through housekeeping that will streamline the trial to come. The rule lists what that conference can cover: trimming down the issues in dispute, weighing whether the pleadings need amending, exploring which facts and documents the parties will agree on so nobody wastes trial time proving the undisputed, capping the number of expert witnesses each side can call, and considering whether a master should look at particular issues and report findings for a jury to use as evidence. A catch-all closes the list, covering anything else that would help move the case toward resolution.
Once a conference happens, the court must follow up with a written order. That order records what the conference decided -- the amendments allowed, the agreements the parties reached, and which issues remain for trial -- and from that point on, the order controls how the case proceeds. The rule sets a high bar for departing from it later: the trial court may modify the order only to prevent manifest injustice, so that what the parties and the court worked out beforehand does not become a moving target once trial starts. Holding the conference is optional, but once one is held, issuing the order is not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a pretrial conference required under Rule 16?
No. The court may direct the attorneys to appear for a conference on its own initiative or on a party's application, but nothing in the rule forces a conference to happen.
What topics can a Rule 16 pretrial conference address?
The rule lists simplifying the issues, amending the pleadings, obtaining admissions of fact or documents, limiting the number of expert witnesses, referring issues to a master for jury trials, and any other matters that would help dispose of the action.
Is the court required to issue an order after a pretrial conference?
Yes. Once a conference is held, the court must enter an order that records the action taken, the amendments allowed, and the parties' agreements, and that order limits the issues for trial to those not already resolved by admission or agreement.
Can the issues set at a pretrial conference change later at trial?
Only if the court modifies the order to prevent manifest injustice. Otherwise, the pretrial order controls the subsequent course of the action.
What is the "preliminary reference to a master" mentioned in Rule 16(5)?
It refers to the possibility of sending particular issues to a master for findings before a jury trial, so the jury can use those findings as evidence rather than the court trying every issue itself.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Reporter's Notes, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Vermont Supreme Court. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: pretrial conference VermontVRCP 16pretrial ordersimplification of issues