Rule 13 - Trial Calendars and the First Circuit On-call Status; Civil Cases(a) Trial calendars. The court shall prepare and maintain a trial calendar for jury trials and a separate trial calendar for jury-waived trials of all civil cases which may require hearing or trial. All such cases placed on the trial calendars shall be called and assigned to any available judge for hearing or trial during the week the same shall be set unless continued for good cause.
When any action on the ready calendar is called during a calendar call or when any action is called for a pretrial or settlement conference after timely notice to all attorneys or parties not represented by counsel, the court, may, on its own motion or on the motion of any party, dismiss such action or hold the defendant in default, as the case may be, if any of the parties fails to appear.
Any case at issue, whether on the ready calendar or not, may be advanced and set for a pretrial or settlement conference or be immediately placed on the trial calendar for hearing or trial.
All civil cases appealed to the circuit court, when docketed, shall be placed on the appropriate trial calendars of civil cases.
(b) The first circuit on-call status. (1) All first circuit trials in which doctors or other experts will be offered as witnesses will have a fixed trial date and counsel will be on "24-hour notice" to commence trial the entire week. However, by Friday of the assigned week, if the trial cannot commence, then the trial judge will return the file to the administrative judge and the parties will: (i) either agree to a new trial week which will fall within 90 days from the date of the original trial week, subject to the administrative judge's approval, or (ii) if the parties cannot agree or the administrative judge cannot accommodate the agreed upon date, then the parties will meet with the administrative judge for a trial setting which will, in any event, be no later than 90 days from the date of the originally scheduled week. (2) In cases not involving doctors or other expert witnesses, trial counsel will be on a 24-hour notice during the week trial is set, and if trial does not commence during said week, they will then be on a "48-hour notice" for the next 2 calendar weeks. Amended June 22, 1983, effective 7/1/1983, further amended May 24, 1984, effective 7/1/1984; further amended July 26, 1990, effective 9/1/1990.