A. Application. This Rule 3-10 shall apply to all civil cases except those referred to in Rule 3-9.

   B. Related Civil Cases. Attorneys of record shall, at filing, if known to the party, note related case titles and case numbers, and the Clerk of the District Court shall assign all related cases to the judge with the case that has the lowest case number. Open or closed civil cases are related when they involve some or all of the same issues of fact, arise out of the same transaction, or involve the same parties arising from the same action. Civil cases are not related to criminal cases. 

  C. Progression Order. After either (1) the case is at issue or (2) "answer day" has passed without response, the court may enter a case progression order on its own motion or at the request of a party. The progression order may include the mandatory exchange of information, discovery deadlines, provision for disclosure of expert witnesses, the date of the pretrial conference, the trial term at which the case will be tried or the trial date, together with such other provisions as the court may deem appropriate.

   D. Filing of Trial Notice. When a case is at issue and there is no progression order entered, counsel may file with the clerk of the court a Trial Notice on the form contained in the Appendix to these rules. A copy of the Trial Notice shall be submitted to the judge to whom the case is assigned. The notice shall be simultaneously served on all opposing counsel of record.

   E. Objection to Trial Notice. An objection to a Trial Notice shall be filed within 10 days of the date of service of the Trial Notice. The objection shall set forth with specificity the reasons for the objection and a statement of the objector's opinion of when the case will be ready for trial.

Approved effective December 23, 1999; amended October 29, 2025.