Sec. 1. 24 MRSA §2853, sub-§4, as amended by PL 1995, c. 571, §1, is further amended to read:

4. Filing of records; time for hearing; extensions. Within 20 days of entry of appearance, the person or persons accused shall contact the claimant's counsel and by agreement shall designate a timetable for filing file all the relevant medical and provider records necessary to a determination of the panel and for completing discovery. If the parties are unable to agree on a timetable within 60 days of the entry of appearance, the claimant shall notify the chair of the panel. The chair shall then establish a timetable for the filing of all relevant records and reasonable discovery, which must be filed at least 30 days before any hearing date. Within 40 days of filing of the medical and provider records, each party shall file any additional admissible evidence, including, but not limited to, statements by experts without the necessity of the experts appearing at the hearing. The hearing may not be later than 6 4 months from the service of the notice of claim upon the clerk, except when the time period has been extended by the panel chair in accordance with this subchapter.

Sec. 2. 24 MRSA §2853, sub-§5, as amended by PL 1991, c. 505, §3, is further amended to read:

5. Lawsuits. The pretrial screening may be bypassed if all parties agree upon a resolution of the claim by lawsuit or if the hearing has not been held within 4 months from the service of the notice of claim and the plaintiff has not requested that the time period be extended. All parties to a claim may, by written agreement, submit a claim to the binding determination of the panel, either prior to or after the commencement of a lawsuit. Both parties may agree to bypass the panel and commence a lawsuit for any reason, or may request that certain preliminary legal affirmative defenses or issues be litigated prior to submission of the case to the panel. The panel has no jurisdiction to hear or decide, absent the agreement of the parties, dispositive legal affirmative defenses, except: compliance with practice parameters or risk management protocols adopted under section 2973 if the defendant is a participant in the medical liability demonstration project established under subchapter IX and intends to introduce evidence of compliance at trial; and comparative negligence. The panel chair may require the parties to litigate, by motion, dispositive legal affirmative defenses in the Superior Court prior to submission of the case to the panel. Any such defense, as well as any motion relating to discovery that the panel chair has chosen not to rule on, may be presented, by motion, in