When must the Chancery pretrial order be submitted before conference?

The pretrial conference fixed by the Court

Do not substitute the trial date. Rule 16(b) separately places the conference at least seven days before trial unless the Court directs otherwise.

Responsible actor. Trial counsel or self-represented parties submitting the pretrial order. Use the established pretrial conference and the ordinary three-day backward branch. No different submission time is directed.

1. Use the established pretrial conference and the ordinary three-day backward branch. No different submission time is directed.
2. Exclude the established hearing or conference date and count backward 3 eligible days. Because this period is less than 11 days, exclude Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays. Rule 6(a)(4) moves a required adjustment backward, away from the event.
3. Check the actual holidays, additional closures and applicable electronic or paper boundary.
4. Confer in good faith and submit the required pretrial order in the form and duplicate arrangement required by the current rule and Court directions.

Rule 6(a)(1) excludes the event day. Periods below eleven days exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays; eleven days or more include them. A final weekend or legal holiday moves forward for an after-event period and backward for a before-event period. Rule 6(a)(3) separately addresses actual Register inaccessibility for filings. Rule 6(a)(5) includes section 501 holidays and days declared by the Governor. Good Friday and Thanksgiving Friday are Delaware holidays. Sunday July 4, 2027 is observed Monday July 5. Check county-specific Sussex Return Day and additional actual closures separately; the bundled calendar does not determine those filing conditions.

Rule 6(c) adds three calendar days after the ordinary Rule 6(a) period only for an act measured after service made exclusively by mail. It applies to party acts, not Court acts. Electronic service, an entry-based clock and a filing-based clock do not acquire that addition merely because a paper copy is mailed. These calculations show the disclosed nonexclusive-mail base component; they do not implement the mail-only addition or infer service effectiveness.

These reviewed calculators use the official edition current as of June 1, 2026. Events before that date and backward periods crossing before that date receive no computed or paid date. This is publication coverage, not a finding that an actual procedural act is late. Historical editions, emergency measures, court-modified dates and actual additional closures require separate review.

Fictitious example

Use the established pretrial conference and the ordinary three-day backward branch. No different submission time is directed. Ordinary current-edition facts, no changed order and no exclusively mailed incoming service.

Fictitious current-edition facts. This is the disclosed component with no altered order or additional actual closure. It does not establish effective service, completed filing, judicial action or procedural entitlement. Exclusively mailed incoming-service additions require separate review.

Disagreement

Where contents cannot be agreed, each counsel or party submits a proposed order indicating the areas of disagreement.

Required contents

Rule 16(c) lists issues, admitted facts, relief, witnesses, evidentiary issues, proposed amendments and estimated trial days.

Mail-only service and actual court schedule

Rule 6(c) adds three calendar days after the ordinary Rule 6(a) period only for an act measured after service made exclusively by mail. It applies to party acts, not Court acts. Electronic service, an entry-based clock and a filing-based clock do not acquire that addition merely because a paper copy is mailed. These calculations show the disclosed nonexclusive-mail base component; they do not implement the mail-only addition or infer service effectiveness.

Current edition and historical scope

These reviewed calculators use the official edition current as of June 1, 2026. Events before that date and backward periods crossing before that date receive no computed or paid date. This is publication coverage, not a finding that an actual procedural act is late. Historical editions, emergency measures, court-modified dates and actual additional closures require separate review.

• Use the established pretrial conference and the ordinary three-day backward branch. No different submission time is directed.
• The base calculation does not obtain an extension, resolve a different branch or establish that the responsible actor completed the required act.

• The pretrial conference fixed by the Court
• Do not substitute the trial date. Rule 16(b) separately places the conference at least seven days before trial unless the Court directs otherwise.
• Where contents cannot be agreed, each counsel or party submits a proposed order indicating the areas of disagreement.
• Rule 16(c) lists issues, admitted facts, relief, witnesses, evidentiary issues, proposed amendments and estimated trial days.
• Confer in good faith and submit the required pretrial order in the form and duplicate arrangement required by the current rule and Court directions.
• For electronic service and filing, Rule 5(d) uses midnight for an original complaint, notice of appeal, or paper in a summary proceeding or an action ordered expedited. Other papers in other actions must be served or filed by 5:00 p.m. Use Delaware local court time and preserve actual completed transmission and docket treatment. Do not replace the ordinary boundary with a federal midnight rule. Rule 5(c)(2)(B) permits self-represented delivery to the Register with the required fee, deemed filed when delivered. Check actual office availability. Rule 5(e) permits the Court, on satisfactory proof, to deem an unsuccessful electronic attempt timely; relief is not automatic.