Rule 53.Masters

Rule 53.01 lets the court in which an action is pending appoint a special master, with compensation set by the court and charged to the parties or paid from a fund in the court’s custody, as the court directs. A master cannot hold the report hostage to secure payment; instead, an unpaid master can obtain a writ of execution against the party ordered to pay once the court-set deadline passes.

Rule 53.02 lets the order of reference define — and limit — what the master is asked to do: report on particular issues, perform specific tasks, or take and report evidence only, with the order also fixing when hearings begin and end and when the report is due. Within whatever limits the order sets, the master runs the proceedings, can compel production of relevant books, papers, and documents, rules on evidence unless the order says otherwise, administers oaths, and can examine witnesses and the parties directly. If a party asks, the master has to record excluded and offered evidence the same way a trial court would.

Rule 53.03 governs the mechanics: the master has to set an initial meeting within 20 days of the reference and proceed with reasonable diligence, with either party able to ask the court to push the master along if things stall; witnesses can be subpoenaed the same as at trial, and an uncooperative witness faces the same consequences as at trial; and where accounting issues are in play, the master can prescribe the form accounts must take and can call for a certified public accountant’s statement.

Rule 53.04 covers the report itself. The master files it with the clerk, along with a transcript and the exhibits unless the order says otherwise, and the clerk notifies every party. In a case tried without a jury, a party has 10 days after that notice to file written objections, and the court then rules on the report by motion — adopting it, modifying it, rejecting it in whole or in part, hearing more evidence, or sending it back to the master with instructions. In a jury case, the master’s findings on the referred issues come in as evidence and can be read to the jury, subject to legal objections, and either party can offer more proof or cross-examine the master about the findings. If the parties stipulated that the master’s factual findings would be final, only legal questions arising from the report remain open. Before filing, a master may share a draft report with counsel to gather their input.

Rule 53.05 extends this entire procedure to references handled by chancery court clerks and masters, not just to special masters appointed under Rule 53.01.