Rule 53.Court-appointed Neutrals

A court-appointed neutral is Indiana’s current name for what used to be called a master — someone a court brings in, apart from the judge, to help move a case forward. Under Trial Rule 53, a court can appoint one in two ways: every party can agree to it, or, if they don’t all agree, the court can appoint one anyway after giving notice and a chance to be heard, but only if the court finds that the appointment will meaningfully help resolve the case in a just and timely way, that the expected cost fits the size of the case, and that the cost won’t fall too heavily on any one party. The rule casts a wide net over who can serve: an attorney, a senior judge, a referee, an auditor, an examiner, a commissioner, an assessor, or anyone else with skills or training suited to the assignment. An attorney serving in the role has to be licensed and in good standing in Indiana. The parties can agree on who fills the role, or the court can pick, and whatever the neutral is paid has to be reasonable.

The order appointing the neutral, called the order of reference, can narrow the assignment — limiting the neutral to reporting on specific issues, performing specific tasks, taking and reporting evidence without deciding anything, or working within a set schedule for hearings and for filing a report. Within whatever boundaries that order sets, the neutral can run the proceedings and take the steps needed to get the job done.

Once appointed, the neutral has real tools to work with. The clerk sends the neutral a copy of the order of reference, and the neutral must set the first meeting with the parties within twenty days, unless the order says otherwise, and then move the case along without needless delay; either party can go back to the court and ask it to push the neutral to speed things up. The neutral can put witnesses under oath, question them, let the parties do the same within reasonable limits, and use subpoenas under Trial Rule 45 to compel witnesses to appear — a witness who won’t show up or won’t testify faces the same contempt consequences that apply under Trial Rule 37 and Trial Rule 45. The neutral can also demand documents and records, rule on what evidence comes in, and, if a party asks, keep a record of the evidence offered and excluded the way a judge would in a bench trial. When the assignment touches accounting, the neutral can set the form for submitting figures and can call for a certified public accountant’s statement.

When the work is done, the neutral files a written report with the court clerk, including findings of fact if a party or the court asked for them before the evidence was taken. In a case without a jury, any party has ten days after being notified of the filing to object in writing, and the court can then adopt the report, reject all or part of it, hear more evidence, or send the matter back to the neutral with instructions. In a jury case, the neutral doesn’t report the evidence itself — only the findings on the issues submitted, which come in as evidence and can be read to the jury, subject to whatever legal objections a party raises. If the parties agree in advance that the neutral’s factual findings will be final, only legal questions about the report remain open once it’s filed. Before filing, the neutral can circulate a draft report to counsel for feedback, and the court can ask for interim reports along the way.

Trial Rule 53 doesn’t reach into probate practice — it leaves the separate laws governing probate commissioners untouched, and it doesn’t stop a probate or similar court from using this rule to appoint its own neutral instead.