Short answer. Yes. Non-appearance at any of the settings listed in the notice of pre-trial — including court-annexed mediation and judicial dispute resolution — is treated as non-appearance at the pre-trial itself and carries exactly the same sanctions provided under this Rule.

What the law says

The notice of pre-trial shall include the dates respectively set for: (a) Pre-trial; (b) Court-Annexed Mediation; and (c) Judicial Dispute Resolution, if necessary. The notice of pre-trial shall be served on counsel, or on the party [ if he] or she has no counsel. The counsel served with such notice is charged with the duty of notifying the party represented by him or her. Non-appearance at any of the foregoing settings shall be deemed as non-appearance at the pre- trial and shall merit the same sanctions under Section 5 hereof.

Rule 18, Section 3 — Notice of pre. Read the full provision →

Three settings covered by one notice

A single notice of pre-trial does considerably more than simply schedule the pre-trial hearing itself in isolation. It must include the dates respectively set for the pre-trial proper, for Court-Annexed Mediation, and, where necessary, for Judicial Dispute Resolution as well. All three of these distinct settings are bundled together into that one single notice rather than being separately scheduled through three different documents.

Who the notice is served on

The notice of pre-trial itself is served on counsel, or served directly on the party personally if that particular party has no counsel of record. Where counsel is the one served, that counsel is specifically charged with the ongoing duty of properly notifying the party they represent — the ultimate responsibility for passing along the full schedule rests squarely with counsel in that situation.

Any missed setting equals missing pre-trial

The resulting consequence provision here is entirely explicit on this point: non-appearance at any of the foregoing settings — whether pre-trial itself, mediation, or judicial dispute resolution — shall be deemed as non-appearance at the pre-trial, and shall merit exactly the same sanctions as if the party had missed the pre-trial hearing directly. Appearing dutifully at one of these settings while simply skipping another does not avoid the consequence otherwise tied to non-appearance at pre-trial generally.

Why the settings are treated as one unit

Bundling mediation and judicial dispute resolution together with pre-trial under a single unified notice, and then treating non-appearance at any one of them identically, reflects the underlying reality that these settings are all genuinely part of the very same overall pre-trial process aimed at narrowing or fully resolving the case before it ever reaches full-blown trial — skipping any one piece of that process undermines its overall purpose just as much as skipping the pre-trial hearing itself would.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.