Recently, I settled a multi-party,
multi-action motor vehicle accident claim at the third pre-trial,
which occurred on the eve of trial.
At the second pre-trial, some months earlier,
the court had ordered a "hot tub" involving the four
liability engineers.
Rule 20.05(2)(k) of the Rules of Civil
Procedure provides that, where a summary judgment has been
refused, or granted only in part, the court may give directions,
including that any experts meet, on a without prejudice basis, to
identify the issues on which the experts agree and disagree, to
attempt to clarify and resolve any issues and to prepare a joint
statement, setting out the areas of agreement and disagreement and
the reasons for it. The court may order such a meeting if, in the
opinion of the court, the benefits that may be achieved are
proportionate to the amounts involved or the importance of the
issues involved in the case and there is a reasonable prospect for
agreement upon some or all of the
