Section R. 792.10421 - Prehearing conferencesRule 421.
(1) A prehearing conference may be held for any of the following purposes: (a) Identifying and simplifying the factual and legal issues to be resolved.(b) Amending pleadings by agreement or by prehearing order.(c) Ruling on petitions to intervene and prehearing motions.(d) Determining the scope of the hearing.(f) Providing for joint, coordinated, or consolidated presentations by parties having substantially identical interests to avoid repetitive, cumulative, or redundant evidence.(g) Disclosing the number, names, and order of presentation of witnesses.(h) Producing and exchanging proposed exhibits and prepared testimony of proposed witnesses, and considering the admissibility of proposed exhibits and other documents.(i) Providing for expeditious completion of discovery.(j) Presenting and considering appropriate legal authorities in support of, or in opposition to, the contentions of the parties.(k) Estimating the time required for hearing and establishing a schedule.(l) Discussing the possibility of voluntary dismissal or settlement of the proceeding.(m) Requiring production and distribution of proposed exhibits and written prepared testimony reasonably in advance of the hearing session at which the proposed exhibits and written testimony will be offered.(n) Considering and ruling on other matters that may aid in the expeditious disposition of the proceeding.(2) Notice of the time and place of any prehearing conference must be given to all parties. Any person failing to attend or otherwise participate in a prehearing conference after having been served appropriate notice of the time and place shall, with respect to procedural matters, be bound, except for good cause, by any agreements reached, schedules set, and any orders or rulings made. If a transcript of the conference is not prepared, the presiding officer shall ensure that a written summary of the conference is prepared and served on all parties.(3) Additional conferences may be held, as appropriate, during the course of any proceeding.(4) At any conference held pursuant to this rule, the presiding officer may dispose of, by ruling, any procedural matter upon which the presiding officer may rule during the course of the proceeding if the parties have had appropriate notice. All rulings made at any prehearing conference are binding on all parties to the proceeding unless the rulings are subsequently modified or reversed by the presiding officer or the commission.(5) After proper notice, the presiding officer may, on his or her own initiative or upon the request of a party, direct that a conference telephone or other electronic device be used for a prehearing or status conference. If a transcript of the conference is not prepared, the presiding officer shall ensure that a written summary of the conference is prepared and served on all parties.Mich. Admin. Code R. 792.10421
2015 AACS; 2023 MR 19, Eff. 9/29/2023