Court Rules

Court-wide rules

Applies court-wide

These 15 rules apply across Dallas County Civil District Courts. Where this judge's own standing orders above address the same topic, the judge's requirement controls.

Filing Requirements

All 6
  • Applies to
    Original pleading

    Attorneys filing a case related to a prior case must disclose the related case in the original pleading or a simultaneous filing, identifying it by style, case number and Court; otherwise the signature certifies no related case exists.

  • Applies to
    Defensive pleading

    The attorney answering a filed case must point out in the original defensive pleading or a simultaneous filing any failure of the filing attorney to make a proper and accurate related-case disclosure.

  • Applies to
    Request to appear

    Out-of-state attorneys seeking to appear must comply with Rule XIX of the Rules Governing Admission to the Bar.

Filing Timing

All 3
  • Deadline
    20 calendar days

    A Suggestion of Bankruptcy must be filed no more than 20 days after a party receives notice of another party's bankruptcy petition.

  • Applications for immediate or temporary relief must be filed and assigned to a Court before being presented to a Judge, except in emergencies when the Clerk's office is closed.

  • In emergencies when the Clerk's office is closed, the case must still be docketed and assigned to a Court at the earliest practicable time, with all writs and process returnable to that Court.

Service

All 3
  • Service
    Other to all parties

    The Suggestion of Bankruptcy must be filed with the clerk of the Court and copies served on all counsel of record.

  • Service
    Mail

    A self-represented litigant's failure to accept or pick up mail is constructive receipt, provable by postal service receipt or comparable proof of delivery.

  • Service
    Other

    Motions and pleadings must not be served in any manner that unfairly limits another party's opportunity to respond.

Communication

All 2
  • Contact
    Letter ecf to clerk

    Attorneys may reserve up to three vacation weeks per year by sending a vacation letter to the Court Coordinator and opposing counsel; once filed, no hearings, depositions, or trials may be set during reserved weeks except upon notice and hearing.

  • Contact
    Letter ecf to chambers

    Lawyers must not send correspondence or copies of correspondence to the Court or its staff to gain an unfair advantage.

More categories

About Judge Dale Tillery

Judge Dale Tillery is a district judge in the 134th District Court of the Dallas County Civil District Courts, which hear civil matters in Dallas County, Texas.

Practitioners will find local rules, standing orders, and guidance on appointments and fees, reporter's records, protective orders, trial exhibits, Rule 106 service, default judgments, videoconferencing, and attorney appointment lists.

Common questions about Judge Dale Tillery's rules

Does Judge Dale Tillery require a pre-motion conference or letter before filing a motion?

Judge Dale Tillery's rules set a pre-motion procedure for covered motions. Before filing a motion, movant's counsel must make at least three attempts to contact respondent's counsel during regular business hours on at least two business days.

View ruleSource: page 8, section 2.07(b)

What formatting rules apply to filings before Judge Dale Tillery?

Judge Dale Tillery's formatting rule includes file format PDF, exhibits must be pre-marked, and email to tina.thompson@dallascounty.org. Paper exhibits must be pre-marked, in PDF format, and emailed to the Court Reporter.

View ruleSource: page 2, section ORDERING REPORTER'S RECORD

What must be included with virtual hearing request filings before Judge Dale Tillery?

The rule requires case number. Virtual room requests must include case number/style, hearing date, docket time, duration, subject, reset status, and participant email addresses.

View ruleSource: page 1, section PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING

What must be included with reporters record request filings before Judge Dale Tillery?

The rule identifies required filing content or certificates. Reporter's Record requests require the 134th Request form emailed to the Reporter.

View ruleSource: page 1, section ORDERING REPORTER'S RECORD

How may parties contact Judge Dale Tillery's chambers?

The rule addresses phone communications. If video fails, parties and witnesses must connect by telephone on speaker setting during bench trials.

View ruleSource: page 2, section BENCH TRIAL PROCEEDURES FOR PARTIES/WITNESSES

How does Judge Dale Tillery handle sealed or redacted filings?

The rule does not state that a motion to seal is required for the covered filing process. Documents containing sensitive data must be redacted by the filer prior to submission.

View ruleSource: page 1, section TRCP Rule 21c. Privacy Protection for Filed Documents

How do I request an adjournment or extension before Judge Dale Tillery?

Advance notice is not fully stated in the structured details. Passing, postponing, or resetting a case requires consent of all parties or notice with opportunity to object; failure to announce readiness constitutes consent.

View ruleSource: page 11, section 3.01

Does Judge Dale Tillery require motion papers to be bundled?

Yes. Judge Dale Tillery requires bundling for covered papers. E-filed documents should be combined into a single PDF with bookmarks separating content, unless the file exceeds 35 MB.

View ruleSource: page 3, section JCIT Technology Standards, v1.2 – Section 3.1

Is electronic filing required before Judge Dale Tillery?

Yes. Electronic filing is required for the covered filings. All reports must be entered into the reporting database at card.txcourts.gov, beginning with the September 2016 report.

View ruleSource: page 5, section How to Submit Reports

Are filing fees or waivers addressed before Judge Dale Tillery?

A fee is required for covered filings. Out-of-state attorneys must pay the Board of Law Examiners fee before requesting permission to participate in Texas Court proceedings.

View ruleSource: page 10, section 31

When is a filing treated as filed before Judge Dale Tillery?

The rule addresses filing timing, filing status, or cure windows. Suggestion of Bankruptcy must be filed within 20 days of receiving notice of another party's bankruptcy petition.

View ruleSource: page 6, section 1.13. SUGGESTION OF BANKRUPTCY

What rule applies to serving all parties before Judge Dale Tillery?

The rule addresses service method, recipient, or timing requirements. Details: recipient: all parties, timing: 0 hours at filing. Documents relating to expedited relief or hearings within 7 days must be served on all opposing parties the same day they are filed, in a manner ensuring receipt.

View ruleSource: page 8, section 2.05
Complete rules summary for Judge Dale Tillery

Videoconferencing must use Microsoft Teams; consumer-level platforms are not supported.

Litigants may request a virtual hearing; contact the coordinator for available dates and times.

Virtual room requests must include case number/style, hearing date, docket time, duration, subject, reset status, and participant email addresses.

The Microsoft Teams invitation link does not constitute notice of the hearing.

Technical staff must remain available by telephone during the proceeding.

Reporter's Record requests require the 134th Request form emailed to the Reporter.

Daily copies must be requested at least three weeks in advance, subject to reporter availability.

Paper exhibits must be pre-marked, in PDF format, and emailed to the Court Reporter.

Audio/visual exhibit file names must include exhibit number and recording type; send via Dropbox.

Parties must verify audio and video connections before bench trials.

Parties and witnesses must keep video on at all times and mute only when instructed by the Court.

If video fails, parties and witnesses must connect by telephone on speaker setting during bench trials.

Electronically filed documents must be in text-searchable PDF format.

E-filed documents must be directly converted to PDF rather than scanned when possible.

E-filed documents must not be locked.

Documents containing sensitive data must be redacted by the filer prior to submission.

Filers must designate the document as containing sensitive data when e-filing.

Paper filings containing sensitive data must include the notice phrase on the upper left-hand side of the first page.

Including the sensitive data notice on the upper left corner of the first page is preferred for e-filed documents.

E-filed documents must be text-searchable PDF, use PDF-spec fonts, 8.5x11 inch page size, with content appropriately rotated.

Documents should be generated directly from originating software using a PDF distiller when possible.

E-filed documents may not contain security restrictions, password protection, encryption, or embedded multi-media.

Documents may not contain package PDFs; PDFs should not be embedded inside another PDF, and each document must be a single PDF.

Combining multiple documents from a single filing into one PDF with bookmarks is preferred but not required.

E-filed documents should be combined into a single PDF with bookmarks separating content, unless the file exceeds 35 MB.

If a filing exceeds 35 MB, it must be split and the remaining split documents attached to the lead document as an attachment.

E-filed documents must contain page numbering for the entire filing; appendices should be numbered individually and the entire document numbered as a whole.

E-filed document filenames must contain only alphanumeric characters from the Latin1_General character set, with no special characters and a maximum length of 50 characters.

All information entered into the eFileTexas.gov portal must be in all caps; lower or mixed case letters are not permitted.

Documents may not contain multiple filings in the same document; each filing must be filed separately.

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