Circuit Court for Davidson County, Tennessee Filing Rules

The motion to approve a sales contract must attach a copy of the sales contract and the County Assessor's report or a professional appraisal.

Divorce complaints must conform to the statutory requirements of T.C.A. §36-4-106.

The continuance order must state the reason for the continuance.

A completed Notice of Insurance must be filed with the Court.

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.

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

The Final Motion Docket assigning specific time blocks is published by 12:00 p.m. on the Tuesday before the Motion Docket.

The Final Motion Docket assigning each motion to a specific time block is published by noon the Tuesday before the Motion Docket; motions are initially noticed for 9 a.m.

A proposed order in an unopposed motion must be submitted within seven calendar days of the motion hearing.

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

Petitioner must provide notice to the respondent's closest relatives, caretakers, and any other interested parties.

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

The Circuit Court Clerk’s Office shall electronically file the Domestic Status Conference Order and serve a copy of the order by mail to all self- represented litigants and counsel of record.

I hereby certify that a true and exact copy of the foregoing has been forwarded via U.S. Mail to the (Defendant/Respondent)(Counter-Defendant/Respondent) (opposing party) at (address of opposing attorney or party) on this the _____ day of ________, 20____.

The court office is open Monday through Thursday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

possible, the Court should be notified in advance if the attorney for a party or a party will be late.

To schedule a judicial settlement conference, contact the Special Master's Office at 880-2555.

For scheduling or rescheduling conferences or trials, you may call the Judicial Assistant to Judge McClendon.

Parties may receive probate-related updates by joining the court’s email list.

Continuances of motions should be to a specific date rather than indefinite.

First-time continuation or continuance requests are liberally granted.

A witness's absence justifies a continuance only if a subpoena was issued 10 calendar days before trial for a local witness or 14 calendar days before trial for an out-of-county witness.

Discovery deadlines will not be extended except for an unexpected occurrence.

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

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 Clerk must electronically file the Domestic Status Conference Order.

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

Confidential information must be redacted as required by Tennessee law.

When a satisfied judgment has unpaid court costs, the Clerk may apply to re-tax costs and must notify the parties of the application and hearing.

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

If your argument is expected to exceed a total of one-half hour, you should schedule the motion specially or alert the court.

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

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

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.

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

A chamber copy of the pretrial brief must be delivered or emailed to the Judicial Assistant after filing.

If you file a reply late on Wednesday, to insure that it has reached the law clerk, please bring a courtesy copy to Second Circuit Court directly.

Electronic signatures on pleadings, orders, and other court documents filed in Circuit Court must take the format of the original signature.

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.

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

Every page of a pleading, brief, or memoranda filed with the Circuit Court Clerk and/or submitted directly to the Court must be numbered.

Facsimile transmissions over 50 pages (including the cover sheet) will not be filed unless authorized by the Court.

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