{"id":4382,"date":"2017-08-10T02:39:25","date_gmt":"2017-08-10T02:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=4382"},"modified":"2017-08-13T21:23:23","modified_gmt":"2017-08-13T21:23:23","slug":"rule-53-masters","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/?page_id=4382","title":{"rendered":"Rule 53 \u2013 Masters"},"content":{"rendered":"

(a)\u00a0Appointment<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0Scope.<\/em>\u00a0Unless a statute provides otherwise, a court may appoint a master only to:<\/span><\/p>\n

(A) perform duties consented to by the parties;<\/span><\/p>\n

(B) hold trial proceedings and make or recommend findings of fact on issues to be decided without a jury if appointment is warranted by:<\/span><\/p>\n

(i) some exceptional condition; or<\/span><\/p>\n

(ii) the need to perform an accounting or resolve a difficult computation of damages; or<\/span><\/p>\n

(C) address pretrial and posttrial matters that cannot be effectively and timely addressed by an available district judge or magistrate judge of the district.<\/span><\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0Disqualification.<\/em>\u00a0A master must not have a relationship to the parties, attorneys, action, or court that would require disqualification of a judge under\u00a028 U.S.C. \u00a7455, unless the parties, with the court\u2019s approval, consent to the appointment after the master discloses any potential grounds for disqualification.<\/span><\/p>\n

(3)\u00a0Possible Expense or Delay.<\/em>\u00a0In appointing a master, the court must consider the fairness of imposing the likely expenses on the parties and must protect against unreasonable expense or delay.<\/span><\/p>\n

(b)\u00a0Order Appointing a Master<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0Notice.<\/em>\u00a0Before appointing a master, the court must give the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard. Any party may suggest candidates for appointment.<\/span><\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0Contents.<\/em>\u00a0The appointing order must direct the master to proceed with all reasonable diligence and must state:<\/span><\/p>\n

(A) the master\u2019s duties, including any investigation or enforcement duties, and any limits on the master\u2019s authority under\u00a0Rule 53(c);<\/span><\/p>\n

(B) the circumstances, if any, in which the master may communicate ex parte with the court or a party;<\/span><\/p>\n

(C) the nature of the materials to be preserved and filed as the record of the master\u2019s activities;<\/span><\/p>\n

(D) the time limits, method of filing the record, other procedures, and standards for reviewing the master\u2019s orders, findings, and recommendations; and<\/span><\/p>\n

(E) the basis, terms, and procedure for fixing the master\u2019s compensation under\u00a0Rule 53(g).<\/span><\/p>\n

(3)\u00a0Issuing.<\/em>\u00a0The court may issue the order only after:<\/span><\/p>\n

(A) the master files an affidavit disclosing whether there is any ground for disqualification under\u00a028 U.S.C. \u00a7455; and<\/span><\/p>\n

(B) if a ground is disclosed, the parties, with the court\u2019s approval, waive the disqualification.<\/span><\/p>\n

(4)\u00a0Amending.<\/em>\u00a0The order may be amended at any time after notice to the parties and an opportunity to be heard.<\/span><\/p>\n

(c)\u00a0Master\u2019s Authority<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0In General.<\/em>\u00a0Unless the appointing order directs otherwise, a master may:<\/span><\/p>\n

(A) regulate all proceedings;<\/span><\/p>\n

(B) take all appropriate measures to perform the assigned duties fairly and efficiently; and<\/span><\/p>\n

(C) if conducting an evidentiary hearing, exercise the appointing court\u2019s power to compel, take, and record evidence.<\/span><\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0Sanctions.<\/em>\u00a0The master may by order impose on a party any noncontempt sanction provided by\u00a0Rule 37<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a045<\/a>, and may recommend a contempt sanction against a party and sanctions against a nonparty.<\/span><\/p>\n

(d)\u00a0Master\u2019s Orders<\/strong>.\u00a0A master who issues an order must file it and promptly serve a copy on each party. The clerk must enter the order on the docket.<\/span><\/p>\n

(e)\u00a0Master\u2019s Reports<\/strong>.\u00a0A master must report to the court as required by the appointing order. The master must file the report and promptly serve a copy on each party, unless the court orders otherwise.<\/span><\/p>\n

(f)\u00a0Action on the Master\u2019s Order, Report, or Recommendations<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0Opportunity for a Hearing; Action in General.<\/em>\u00a0In acting on a master\u2019s order, report, or recommendations, the court must give the parties notice and an opportunity to be heard; may receive evidence; and may adopt or affirm, modify, wholly or partly reject or reverse, or resubmit to the master with instructions.<\/span><\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0Time to Object or Move to Adopt or Modify.<\/em>\u00a0A party may file objections to\u2014or a motion to adopt or modify\u2014the master\u2019s order, report, or recommendations no later than 21 days after a copy is served, unless the court sets a different time.<\/span><\/p>\n

(3)\u00a0Reviewing Factual Findings.<\/em>\u00a0The court must decide de novo all objections to findings of fact made or recommended by a master, unless the parties, with the court\u2019s approval, stipulate that:<\/span><\/p>\n

(A) the findings will be reviewed for clear error; or<\/span><\/p>\n

(B) the findings of a master appointed under\u00a0Rule 53(a)(1)(A)\u00a0or (C) will be final.<\/span><\/p>\n

(4)\u00a0Reviewing Legal Conclusions.<\/em>\u00a0The court must decide de novo all objections to conclusions of law made or recommended by a master.<\/span><\/p>\n

(5)\u00a0Reviewing Procedural Matters.<\/em>\u00a0Unless the appointing order establishes a different standard of review, the court may set aside a master\u2019s ruling on a procedural matter only for an abuse of discretion.<\/span><\/p>\n

(g)\u00a0Compensation<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

(1)\u00a0Fixing Compensation.<\/em>\u00a0Before or after judgment, the court must fix the master\u2019s compensation on the basis and terms stated in the appointing order, but the court may set a new basis and terms after giving notice and an opportunity to be heard.<\/span><\/p>\n

(2)\u00a0Payment.<\/em>\u00a0The compensation must be paid either:<\/span><\/p>\n

(A) by a party or parties; or<\/span><\/p>\n

(B) from a fund or subject matter of the action within the court\u2019s control.<\/span><\/p>\n

(3)\u00a0Allocating Payment.<\/em>\u00a0The court must allocate payment among the parties after considering the nature and amount of the controversy, the parties\u2019 means, and the extent to which any party is more responsible than other parties for the reference to a master. An interim allocation may be amended to reflect a decision on the merits.<\/span><\/p>\n

(h)\u00a0Appointing a Magistrate Judge<\/strong>.\u00a0A magistrate judge is subject to this rule only when the order referring a matter to the magistrate judge states that the reference is made under this rule.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(a)\u00a0Appointment. (1)\u00a0Scope.\u00a0Unless a statute provides otherwise, a court may appoint a master only to: (A) perform duties consented to by the parties; (B) hold trial proceedings and make or recommend findings of fact on issues to be decided without a jury if appointment is warranted by: (i) some exceptional condition; or (ii) the need to … Continue reading Rule 53 \u2013 Masters<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":5002,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4382","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4382"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5018,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4382\/revisions\/5018"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reunitethestates.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}