802.10.Calendar practice.

Section 802.10 applies to most civil actions and special proceedings, with a list of exceptions that includes appeals taken to circuit court, certiorari, habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, and quo warranto actions, cases where every defendant is in default, provisional remedies, and several specific chapters. Where it applies, the circuit court may enter a scheduling order, on its own motion or a party’s, after consulting the attorneys and any unrepresented party. That order can set deadlines for joining parties, amending pleadings, filing motions, and completing discovery, fix the time to determine the mode of trial including a jury demand, limit and schedule depositions and discovery including expert disclosures, set dates for conferences and trial, address the timing of summary judgment practice, consider whether to order the parties toward alternative dispute resolution under section 802.12, plan for managing a complex case, and address discovery of electronically stored information, along with any other matter the circumstances call for.

At a pretrial conference, the court can take up formulating and simplifying the issues, eliminating frivolous claims or defenses, securing admissions or stipulations that avoid unnecessary proof, ruling on the admissibility of evidence including limits on expert testimony, identifying witnesses and exhibits, scheduling pretrial briefs, setting further conference and trial dates, and disposing of pending motions.

Each attorney attending a pretrial conference must have authority to enter stipulations and make admissions on matters the participants might reasonably expect to discuss, and the court can require a party or its representative to be present, or reasonably available by phone, to discuss settlement. Violating a scheduling or pretrial order exposes a party to sanctions under the sections cross-referenced in section 802.10(7), including section 802.05.