Rule 16.Pretrial conference; scheduling; management

Current through January 1, 2025 · Last verified July 8, 2026

In one sentenceRule 16 authorizes pretrial conferences to manage a case toward an efficient resolution, requires the court to issue a scheduling order early in the case setting deadlines for joining parties, amending pleadings, completing discovery, and filing motions, and lists topics for pretrial conferences and available sanctions for noncompliance.

Full Text of Rule 16

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f)

(a) Purposes of pretrial conferences. In any action, the court may order the attorneys and any unrepresented parties to appear for one or more pretrial conferences for such purposes as:

(1) Expediting the disposition of the action;

(2) Establishing early and continuing control so that the case will not be protracted because of lack of management;

(3) Discouraging wasteful pretrial activities;

(4) Improving the quality of the trial through more thorough preparation; and

(5) Facilitating settlement.

(b) Scheduling.

(1) Scheduling order. Except in categories of actions exempted by the Supreme Court of Appeals, the trial court shall issue a scheduling order:

(A) after receiving the parties’ report under Rule 26(f); or

(B) after consulting with the parties’ attorneys and any unrepresented parties at a scheduling conference.

(2) Time to issue. The judge shall issue the scheduling order as soon as practicable, but unless the judge finds good cause for delay, the judge shall issue it within the earlier of 120 days after any defendant has been served with the complaint or 90 days after any defendant has appeared.

(3) Required contents of the order. The scheduling order shall: (i) limit the time to join other parties, (ii) limit the time to amend the pleadings, (iii) limit the time to complete discovery, and (iv) limit the time to file motions.

(A) Permitted contents. The scheduling order may:

(i) modify the timing of disclosures under Rules (26)(a) and 26(d)(1);

(ii) set forth a discovery plan that includes:

(a) the subjects on which discovery may be needed;

(b) when discovery shall be completed;

(d) disclosure of experts and reports, where applicable.

(iii) modify the extent of discovery;

(iv) provide for disclosure, discovery, or preservation of electronically stored information;

(v) include any agreements the parties reach or rulings of the court about asserting claims of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation material after information is produced, including agreements reached under West Virginia Rule of Evidence 502;

(vi) set dates for pretrial conferences and for trial; and

(vii) include other appropriate.

(4) Modifying a schedule. A schedule may be modified only for good cause and with the judge’s consent.

(1) Attendance. A represented party shall authorize at least one of its attorneys to make stipulations and admissions about all matters that can reasonably be anticipated for discussion at a pretrial conference. If appropriate, the Court may require that a party or its representative be present or reasonably available by other means to consider possible settlement.

(2) Matters for consideration. At any pretrial the court may consider and take appropriate action on the following matters:

(A) formulating and simplifying the issues, and eliminating frivolous claims or defenses;

(B) amending the pleadings if necessary or desirable;

(C) obtaining admissions and stipulations about facts and documents to avoid unnecessary proof, and ruling in advance on the admissibility of evidence;

(D) avoiding unnecessary proof and cumulative evidence, and limiting the use of testimony under West Virginia Rule of Evidence 702;

(E) determining the appropriateness and timing of summary adjudication under Rule 56;

(F) controlling and scheduling discovery, including orders affecting disclosures and discovery under Rule 26 and Rules 29 through 37;

(G) identifying witnesses and documents, scheduling the filing and exchange of any pretrial briefs, and setting dates for further conferences and for trial;

(H) referring matters to a commissioner under Rule 53 or 53.1;

(I) settling the case and using special procedures to assist in resolving the dispute when authorized by statute or rule;

(J) determining the form and content of the pretrial order;

(K) disposing of pending motions;

(L) adopting special procedures for managing potentially difficult or protracted actions that may involve complex issues, multiple parties, difficult legal questions, or unusual proof problems;

(M) ordering a separate trial under Rule 42(b) of a claim, counterclaim, crossclaim, third-party claim;

(N) ordering the presentation of evidence early in the trial on a manageable issue that might, on the evidence, be the basis for a judgment as a matter of law under Rule 50(a) or a judgment on partial findings under Rule 52(c);

(O) establishing a reasonable limit on the time allowed to present evidence; and

(P) facilitating in other ways the just, speedy and inexpensive disposition of the action.

(d) Pretrial orders. After any conference under this rule, the court should issue an order reciting the action taken. This order controls the course of the action unless the court modifies it.

(e) Final pretrial conference and orders. The court may hold a final pretrial conference to formulate a trial plan, including a plan to facilitate the admission of evidence. The conference shall be held as close to the start of trial as is reasonable, and shall be attended by at least one attorney who will conduct the trial for each party and by any unrepresented party. The court may modify the order issued after a final pretrial conference only to prevent manifest injustice.

(f) Sanctions.

(1) In general. On motion or on its own, the court may issue any just orders, including those authorized by Rule 37(b)(2)(A)(ii)– (vii), if a party or its attorney:

(A) fails to appear at a scheduling or other pretrial conference;

(B) is substantially unprepared to participate—or does not participate in good faith—in the conference; or

(2) Imposing fees and costs. Instead of or in addition to any other sanction, the judge may require the party, its attorney, or both to pay the reasonable expenses—including attorney fees—incurred because of any noncompliance with this rule, unless the noncompliance was substantially justified or other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.

End

Amendment History

The current West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure took effect January 1, 2025, as part of a rewrite that modernized the rules’ numbering and structure. West Virginia does not publish a per-rule amendment history inside the compiled rules text reproduced here. The text above is verified current through the source’s own January 1, 2025 update; for the underlying adopting order and any later amendments, see the West Virginia Judiciary’s compiled rules page.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 16 is the case-management engine behind a West Virginia civil action. It lets the court call attorneys and unrepresented parties together for pretrial conferences aimed at moving the case efficiently — expediting the action, keeping it under control, cutting wasteful activity, sharpening the issues for trial, and encouraging settlement.

Except in categories of cases the Supreme Court of Appeals exempts, the court must issue a scheduling order early on — within 120 days of any defendant being served, or 90 days of any defendant appearing, whichever comes first — either after the parties' discovery-planning report or after a scheduling conference. That order has to set deadlines for joining parties, amending pleadings, completing discovery, and filing motions, and it may also address disclosure timing, a detailed discovery plan, electronic discovery, privilege agreements, and trial dates. A schedule, once set, can be modified only for good cause and with the judge's consent.

At a pretrial conference, the court can take up almost anything that will streamline the case: narrowing the issues, amending pleadings, obtaining stipulations, ruling on evidence in advance, considering summary judgment, managing discovery, referring matters to a commissioner, encouraging settlement, and setting limits on trial time. Whatever the court decides gets memorialized in an order that controls the rest of the case unless later modified, and a final pretrial conference — held close to trial and attended by trial counsel — produces an order that can only be changed later to prevent manifest injustice.

Noncompliance has teeth. If a party or attorney skips a scheduling conference, shows up unprepared, or disobeys a scheduling or pretrial order, the court can issue appropriate sanctions on motion or on its own, and can require payment of the reasonable expenses — including attorney fees — the noncompliance caused, unless it was substantially justified.

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the court have to issue a scheduling order?

Within the earlier of 120 days after any defendant has been served with the complaint or 90 days after any defendant has appeared, unless the judge finds good cause for delay or the case falls in a category the Supreme Court of Appeals has exempted.

What deadlines must a scheduling order include?

At minimum, deadlines for joining other parties, amending the pleadings, completing discovery, and filing motions. It may also address disclosure timing, a discovery plan, and trial dates.

Can the deadlines in a scheduling order be changed?

Yes, but only for good cause and with the judge's consent.

What happens if I don't show up prepared for a pretrial conference?

The court can sanction you or your attorney under Rule 16(f), including ordering payment of the other side's reasonable expenses and attorney fees caused by the noncompliance, unless it was substantially justified.

Source & verification. The rule text is reproduced verbatim from the official West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure (W. Va. R. Civ. P. 16). Prescribed by the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia (W. Va. Const. art. VIII, § 3). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: scheduling orderpretrial conferencecase management orderdiscovery deadlines