Circuit Court for Davidson County, Tennessee Filing Rules

Briefs must attach a copy of any out-of-state case they cite.

When court approval is required, the fiduciary must file and serve a motion to approve the sales contract and give notice to all interested parties.

After the hearing date is confirmed, the requesting party must E-file a General (Proposed) Order setting the hearing.

To expedite a motion without party agreement, the moving party must file a Motion for Expedited Hearing attaching the underlying motion, E-file a proposed order with a blank date, and explain why Local Rule § 26.03(a) or (b) should be waived.

All pleadings must keep the same caption order and spelling; any change to the style of the case requires a prior court order.

The court follows the two-week motion rule, but may hear a motion earlier upon the parties' agreement for an emergency.

The fiduciary cannot close the real property sale until the court approves the sales contract.

Proposed jury instructions and verdict form must be provided to the Court no later than three business days before trial.

Late responses to motions will be considered at the Court's discretion upon a showing of good cause; agreed late responses will also be considered.

A Final Decree of Divorce must be filed before the hearing date when appearance is waived.

Law clerks may discuss scheduling and administrative issues with attorneys, but not substantive case matters.

Post-trial hearings must be scheduled directly with Staff Attorney Emily Sanders by phone or email.

Scheduling outside normal dockets may be done by phone to the judicial assistant at 615.862.5901; otherwise, communication should be by pleadings, notices, memoranda, and briefs, not written correspondence.

The Court prefers that all matters be communicated through formal pleadings, notices, or memoranda (with the adverse party copied) or in open court.

The clerk is not required to notify the sender of receipt or non-receipt of a facsimile filing.

Proposed orders must be served on opposing counsel within 7 calendar days of the court's ruling.

Pretrial motions, except summary judgment motions, must be served on the opposing party with all supporting material at least 14 days before the hearing.

Movant must provide sworn income and expense statement to adverse party by 5:00 p.m. Monday before hearing; non-movant by 12:00 p.m. Thursday before hearing.

A continuance is granted only if attorneys appear personally, or participate by phone conference in an emergency.

Parties may not agree to modify a Scheduling Order without leave of court.

Once a case is set for trial, parties must file a motion for the Court to consider rescheduling the trial.

First-time continuation or continuance requests are liberally granted.

First-time continuance requests are liberally granted.

Discovery material should not be filed with the Clerk unless the court is asked to consider it.

Attorneys must file and email joint proposed jury instructions to the Eighth Circuit Staff Attorney.

The proposed order granting a Motion for Expedited Hearing must be E-filed with the date left blank for the Court to complete.

The Clerk must electronically file the Domestic Status Conference Order.

Motions with arguments expected to exceed one-half hour should be specially scheduled or brought to the court's attention.

Discovery disputes must be raised by filing a motion set for hearing; the Court generally will not resolve them by telephone.

A Motion for Default must be filed and granted before securing a final hearing date, and the final hearing cannot be combined with the default motion.

Cases not resolved in Judicial Settlement Conference proceed to a remote Pretrial Conference with Judge Williams to discuss procedure and deadlines.

A courtesy copy must be brought to the court when a reply is filed late on Wednesday.

A filed opposition response must be accompanied by a PDF courtesy copy emailed to the Judicial Assistant at the time of filing.

Upon filing a TRO, counsel must email a courtesy copy to ronnellgriffin@jisnashville.gov.

Filers must redact or omit confidential information (e.g., SSNs, account numbers, minors' names, birth dates) before filing documents.

All final judgments must tax court costs; the Clerk may refuse to enter agreed final judgments or settlement orders until court costs are paid.

Certificate of adoption requires a $30.00 fee, and fee disclosures must be filed before Order to Set.

Proposed jury instructions must include the full text of each requested instruction in a Word document.

Exhibits should be printed before trial with an additional copy for the Court; unprinted exhibits may be admitted in original form, but the Court may require a late-filed hard copy within five days of the hearing.

Facsimile filings must be on letter-sized paper (8.5 by 11 inches); larger originals may be reduced if legible and complete.

Every page of a pleading, brief, or memoranda must be numbered.

Non-agreed proposed jury instructions must be filed and emailed as a separate document.

Facsimile filings are limited to 50 pages including the cover sheet, unless authorized by the court, and may not be split into multiple transmissions to avoid the limit.