Rule 3.13 Assessment of Costs Upon Settlement of Case

If a case settles but the attorney doesn't tell the court in time, someone may have to pay for the costs that resulted. This includes fees and mileage paid to jurors who showed up ready for a trial that never happened.

The deadline to notify the court is 5:00 PM the day before the trial is set to begin. If the attorney misses this deadline, or simply fails to try the case as scheduled, the judge has the power to make either the attorney or the party pay for the wasted costs. The court decides who should be responsible based on the situation.

The point of this rule is to avoid wasting the court's time and the jurors' time. If a case is going to settle, the people involved need to let the court know quickly so jurors aren't called in for nothing.