reality check, page-17

anyone........is an interlocutory hearing scheduled by the judge or one of the contestants


Interlocutory steps are mini trials conducted before the final hearing, on application by summons and with affidavits in support. They can be about a variety of issues including but not limited to: defects in the pleadings, whether a person is a proper party, provision of proper particulars, default in discovery obligations, and compelling discovery of documents or answers to interrogatories.