Denton County Courts at Law Service and Proof of Service Rules

CRITICAL

Applies to

Supporting brief

A supporting brief for a summary judgment motion must be served with the motion.

Briefs in support of a motion of summary judgment must be filed and served with that motion ;

CRITICAL

The party submitting evidence for the Court's review must provide a copy to all counsel of record.

The party who provides the evidence for the Court to review shall also provide a copy of that evidence to all counsel of record.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Notice of trial setting

After the Coordinator informs the requesting party of the trial setting, that party must serve notice of the setting on all other parties.

The Coordinator will inform the requesting party of the trial setting and the party requesting the setting shall serve the notice of the setting on all other parties.

CRITICAL

In a contested divorce case, each party must send the specified financial information and documents to opposing counsel no later than the third day before the first hearing.

Not later than the third day before the first hearing on any matter in a contested divorce case, each party shall send to opposing counsel a financial information statement containing information regarding that parties' income and average monthly expenses, tax returns (including all schedules, W-2s, 1099s, and K-ls) for the past 2 tax years, the party' s paystubs for the past three calendar months, and documents evidencing the existence and monthly cost of health and dental insurance for all children the subject of the suit.

CRITICALCivil cases

A Small Estate Affidavit filed after July 9, 2024 must have a General Citation posted.

It is ORDERED that any Small Estate Affidavi t filed after July 9, 2024 shall have a General Citation posted.

CRITICAL

Unless the parties expressly agree otherwise or the Court orders otherwise, counsel intending to offer visually recorded depositions at trial must serve opposing counsel with page-and-line designations at least 30 days before trial; this does not apply to recordings offered solely for impeachment.

Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the parties or ordered by the Court, counsel intending to offer visually recorded depositions or other films or visual recordings at trial, except those offered solely for impeachment, must serve opposing counsel with page and line designations for visually recorded depositions not later than thirty (30) days prior to trial.

CRITICAL

Service

Email to opposing party

Unless the exhibit was emailed previously, it must be emailed to opposing counsel, the judge, and the court reporter.

Unless you did so previously, email the Exhibit to: Opposing Counsel, The Judge (kimberly.mccary@dentoncounty.gov), and The Court Reporter (mary.bryce@dentoncounty.gov).

CRITICALCivil cases

Citation must be served by posting in a manner that substantially complies with Texas Estates Code sections 51.053 and 51.104.

It is ORDERED that the service ofcitation shall be by posting in a manner that su bstantially complies with §5 1.053 and §5 1. 104.

CRITICAL

The order granting withdrawal must be sent to the client and must include all settings and pending deadlines.

The order granting the withdrawal must be sent to the client and shall contain all settings and pending deadlines.

CRITICALCivil cases

The Court states that a general citation is to be posted and returned in accordance with the cited Texas Estates Code sections.

The Court finds that it is in the best interest of each Estate for which a Small Estate Affidavit is filed that a general citation shal I be posted and returned in accordance with Texas Estates Codes §5 1.00 I, §51.003 , §51 .053 and §51.104.

CRITICAL

After receiving a hearing date and time, the moving party must immediately notify all other parties in writing of the date, time, and subject matter, immediately file written notice with the appropriate clerk, and provide a copy of the communication to the Court Coordinator.

1.11.3 Court Coordinators are responsible for scheduling the dates and times for hearings. Upon receiving the date and time of hearing, the moving party shall immediately notify all other parties in writing as to the date, time, and subject matter of the hearing, and shall immediately file a written notice of hearing with the District Clerk or County Clerk, as applicable. A copy of this communication shall be provided to the Court Coordinator.

CRITICAL

Opposing counsel must serve objections and page-and-line designations within 10 days of receiving the designation.

Opposing counsel shall serve the proffering attorney with all objections to the testimony and page and line designations of any portions he/she intends to introduce at trial within 10 days of receiving the designation.

CRITICAL

The party requesting a trial setting must serve the request on all other parties.

The party requesting the setting shall serve the request on all other parties.

CRITICAL

Counsel must exchange marked exhibits with opposing counsel before trial.

Before the trial starts, counsel shall mark all exhibits and exchange them with opposing counsel so that the trial will not be delayed .

CRITICAL

Moving counsel must immediately serve written hearing notice on all counsel after obtaining the date and time and send a copy to the Court Administrator.

On obtaining a date and time for a hearing , the moving counsel shall immediately notify all counsel in writing as to the date, time , and subject matter of the hearing . The moving counsel shall provide a copy of the notice to the Court Administrator.

CRITICAL

Unless the parties agree otherwise or the Court orders otherwise, counsel offering visually recorded material at trial must serve page-and-line designations for visually recorded depositions at least 30 days before trial, except for material offered solely for impeachment.

Unless otherwise expressly agreed by the parties or ordered by the Court, counsel intending to offer visually recorded depositions or other films or visual recordings at trial, except those offered solely for impeachment, must serve opposing counsel with page and line designations for visually recorded depositions not later than 30 days prior to trial.

CRITICAL

The specified trial materials must be delivered to the other parties when the parties report for trial.

At the time the parties report for trial, they will deliver to the Court and the other parties a witness list, exhibit list, any motion in limine, and any requested instructions and questions if trial is by jury (on disk, flash drive, or other similar storage device).

CRITICAL

A trial-setting request must be sent in writing to all counsel and any unrepresented parties.

The request must be sent in writing to all counsel and any parties not represented by counsel.

CRITICAL

A withdrawal motion generally requires a hearing with written notice to all counsel and the client, subject to the exceptions in this section.

A motion to withdraw as attorney of record requires a hearing with written notice to all counsel and the client except as otherwise provided by this section .

CRITICAL

Within three days of a bankruptcy filing, counsel must provide written notice to the affected court and all counsel, including the specified bankruptcy and counsel information.

within 3 days of • any bankruptcy filing, to provide written notice to the affected court(s) and all counsel that a bankruptcy has occurred giving the name and location of the bankruptcy court, the bankruptcy cause number and style, the date of filing and the name and address of counsel for the bankrupt party.

CRITICAL

Deadline

3 working days

Except in an emergency, briefs on motions other than summary judgment must be served at least three working days before the scheduled hearing.

Except in case of emergency, briefs relating to a motion (other than for summary judgment) set for hearing must be served and filed with the Clerk not later than three (3) working days before the scheduled hearing .

CRITICAL

Attorneys must give the appointed expert or ad litem written notice within seven days, with the order and specified contact information, except for ad litems appointed under Texas Health Code § 574.003.

All attorneys in the case have the affirmative duty to give written notice to the expert/ad litem of the appointment within 7 days of the appointment, which includes providing the expert/ad litem with a copy of the order and the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all attorneys, parties, and other persons affected by or the subject of the case. This Section will not apply to ad litems appointed pursuant to the Texas Health Code§ 574.003.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Vacation letter

The vacation letter must be served on all attorneys of record and parties.

If an attorney will be unavailable for Court appearances due to a vacation, the attorney of record shall file a vacation letter with the District Clerk or County Clerk, as applicable, and shall serve all attorneys of record and parties with the vacation letter.

CRITICAL

A party objecting to a proposed order or judgment must serve the alternative form on all counsel.

a party objecting to the form of the order or judgment must prepare an alternative form of the order or judgment, specifically state the objections to the proponent's order or judgment, serve the alternative form on all counsel , and submit the alternative form to the Court;

CRITICAL

Deadline

2 hours

A party seeking ex parte relief must notify all parties of the intended presentation at least two hours beforehand and state the presentation’s time and place in the notice.

A party requesting relief ex parte shall notify all parties of the intent to present the request for relief to the Court ex parte. The requesting counsel must provide notice to all parties not later than two hours before the time the counsel intends to present the request ex parte and state in the notice the time and place the request will be presented .

CRITICAL

A party must notify the Court and all other parties as soon as practicable when a court-appointed expert or ad litem is necessary.

Any party shall give notice to the Court and all other parties as soon as practicable of the necessity for appointment of an expert/ad litem by the Court.

CRITICAL

At least seven days before trial, counsel must mark, exchange, and examine all exhibits.

At least seven (7) days prior to commencement of trial, all exhibits must be marked, exchanged, and examined by counsel so that the trial will not be delayed by such examination.

CRITICAL

A party filing for bankruptcy protection must provide written notice of the filing to the Court and all counsel.

When a party to a case pending before the Court files for protection under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, that party shall provide written notice to the Court and all counsel that a bankruptcy filing has occurred.

CRITICAL

For a remote hearing, the moving party must advise opposing parties of the hearing method and time and arrange the conference call.

The moving party shall be responsible for advising opposing parties of the method and time of hearing and shall be responsible for arranging the conference call.

CRITICAL

All materials to be considered at the deferred hearing - other than the Approved Supervisor(s)' report of any Orders of Release violations and court-ordered UA results, if any -- must have been provided to the Court and Opposing Counsel at least one week prior to the hearing in order for said materials to be considered at the hearing.

All materials to be considered at the deferred hearing - other than the Approved Supervisor(s)' report of any Orders of Release violations and court-ordered UA results, if any -- must have been provided to the Court and Opposing Counsel at least one week prior to the hearing in order for said materials to be considered at the hearing.

CRITICAL

Anyone obtaining a final hearing setting before a District Judge must send opposing parties written notice within two business days, without changing notice obligations under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

Any person who obtains a setting for a final hearing before a District Judge shall have the duty to send all opposing parties written notice of such setting within two business days of the date they obtained such setting. This Rule does not change the obligations for notice in the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, including but not limited to Rules 12, 21 , 21a, 166a, and 245.

CRITICAL

Deadline

3 working days

Applies to

Brief

Except in emergencies, briefs for motions other than summary judgment must be served no later than three working days before the scheduled hearing.

Except in case of emergency, briefs relating to a motion (other than for summary judgment) set for hearing must be served and filed with the District Clerk or County Clerk not later than 3 working days before the scheduled hearing.

CRITICAL

Before submitting a non-agreed proposed order or judgment, counsel must serve it on all other counsel.

counsel may submit a proposed order or judgment to the Court no earlier than 10 days (mailbox rule applies) after serving that proposed order or judgment on all other counsel

CRITICAL

Applies to

Vacation letter

The attorney of record must serve the vacation letter on all attorneys of record and parties.

If an attorney will be unavailable for Court appearances due to a vacation, the attorney of record shall file a vacation letter with the Clerk and shall serve all attorneys of record and parties with the vacation letter.

CRITICAL

A witness subpoena may be served by email or another means calculated to provide notice, and the serving party must provide and file proof of service with the court clerk.

Service of a witness subpoena may be accomplished by email or any other means calculated to provide notice of service. Proof of service of the subpoena will be provided by the party serving the subpoena and filed with the court clerk.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Reply brief

A reply brief supporting a summary judgment motion must be served at least three days before the hearing.

reply briefs in support of a motion for summary judgment must be filed and served no less than three (3) days before the hearing .

CRITICAL

The specified affidavits must be served on other lead counsel or parties, and their attachments made available to them at the requesting party's cost.

The Affidavits described in the preceding paragraphs shall be served upon, and the attachments shall be made available to, all other lead counsel or parties in accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code at the cost of the requesting party.

CRITICAL

Opposing counsel must serve objections and page-and-line designations for testimony they intend to offer within 10 days after receiving the designation.

Opposing counsel shall serve the proffering attorney with all objections to the testimony and page and line designations of any portions he/she intends to introduce at trial within ten (10) days of receiving the designation.

CRITICAL

In a contested divorce, each party must send opposing counsel a sworn inventory no later than 60 days after the Respondent's appearance and at least 30 days before the final trial setting.

In contested divorce cases each party shall send to opposing counsel, not later than 60 days from Respondent's appearance but in no event less than 30 days prior to a final trial setting, an inventory, signed under oath by that party, setting forth a description and value of all property (real and personal, community and separate) owned or claimed by either or both of the parties and a list of all debts and liabilities (stating the creditor and amount) owed by either or both parties.

CRITICAL

Applies to

Opposition brief

An opposition brief to a summary judgment motion must be served at or before the response deadline.

briefs in opposition to a motion for summary judgment must be filed and served at or before the time the response is due;

WARNING

Deadline

2 working days

Proposed orders should be tendered to the opposing party at least two working days before submission to the Court.

Proposed orders should be tendered to the opposing party at least two (2) working days before they are submitted to the Court.

WARNING

Deadline

2 working days

Applies to

Proposed order

A proposed order should be tendered to the opposing party at least two working days before submission to the Court.

Proposed orders should be tendered to the opposing party at least 2 working days before they are submitted to the Court.

WARNING

Until discharged, an ad litem is entitled to notice of all hearings and service of all pleadings.

Until discharged , an ad litem is entitled to be notified of all hearings and to be served with all plead ings.

WARNING

Deadline

10 calendar days

Applies to

Notice of deposition

Deposition notice of less than 10 calendar days is presumed unreasonable, while notice of more than 10 days is presumed reasonable.

2.6.1 Notice of less than 10 calendar days under Rules 21a and 199.2(a), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, shall be presumed to be unreasonable. Notice of more than 10 days shall be presumed to be reasonable.

CRITICAL

The Clerk must send written notice of a dismissal for want of prosecution to all parties or their counsel of record, subject to other rules.

2.7.3 Subject to other provisions of these Rules, the Clerk shall send a written notice of a dismissal for want of prosecution to _all parties or their counsel of record.