Montgomery County District Courts Filing Rules

Submission-docket motions generally require a signed certificate documenting pre-filing efforts to resolve the dispute, including dates, times, and communication methods, subject to listed exceptions.

A motion to compel where a response was made must identify each disputed request by its propounded number, reproduce the request, objections, and responses verbatim, and place concise supporting argument and authority immediately below.

After scheduling a submission date, send notice under the specified local rules unless they are inconsistent with this Order.

For family-law matters involving division of the marital estate, a sworn Inventory and Appraisement must be on file at the default-judgment hearing or the matter will be reset.

Each motion must include a proposed order granting the requested relief, filed as a separate instrument.

A submission-docket notice must state a submission date obtained from the court that is at least ten days after filing, unless the court grants leave.

A motion for remote witness testimony is timely if filed at least seven days before the hearing, or within one business day after receiving notice when notice comes less than seven days beforehand; a motion filed less than 72 hours beforehand is untimely unless the court grants leave.

Petitioners or movants must complete the course within 60 days after filing the original petition or motion; respondents must complete it within 60 days after their first appearance or filing an answer or waiver.

The party or parties seeking partition must file an Abstract of Title no later than 30 days after the first defending party appears.

The movant must serve all parties written notice of the court-scheduled consideration date and time and state whether the matter will be heard orally or by submission.

Motions and hearings without live testimony must be set by submission with at least 10 days’ notice, unless the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure require a longer notice period.

Motions to Compel discovery are considered on the 284th District Court's submission docket. Please contact the Court (936-539-7861) in order to schedule a submission date, then please send notice in compliance with the Local Rules of the District Courts of Montgomery County, Texas, and, in particular, with Rule 3.7 Hearings on Pre-Trial Motions, subparts B and C, to the extent those Rules are not inconsistent with this Order.

If the court grants an oral hearing on a submission, the requesting party must give proper notice after the Coordinator provides the hearing date and time.

The movant must serve the motion and Notice of Submission electronically and provide the respondent a Word or WordPerfect copy by email or other electronic service.

Cases within the concurrent jurisdiction of the District Courts and County Courts at Law must be filed with the District Clerk and assigned under a written order signed by both local administrative judges and filed with the District Clerk.

The movant must electronically serve and file the motion with a Notice of Submission and also provide the respondent an electronic copy in Word or WordPerfect format.

The movant must electronically serve and file the motion with a Notice of Submission and provide the respondent an electronic or emailed Word or WordPerfect copy.

A motion for continuance will be considered only if it is written, timely filed, supported by an affidavit showing sufficient cause, and describes the reason and requested duration.

When an attorney is already in trial, the Court determines the trial assignment and may hold or reset the case depending on when the attorney will be released.

Parties may request additional time beyond the final trial date to enter agreed final orders under a mediated settlement agreement when filing the required Joint Status Report for the submission pretrial conference.

All parties must attend mediation before an evidentiary oral hearing, except for the specified matters.

All attorneys and parties must attend every scheduled mediation session to engage in constructive settlement negotiations.

For juvenile matters, litigants must initially contact the Juvenile Trial Judge, who serves as the on-call judge.

Motions to compel are decided on the submission docket; contact the Court to schedule a submission date and then send notice under the specified local rules, insofar as they are consistent with the order.

Contact the Court by phone to schedule a submission date, then send notice in compliance with the specified local rules to the extent they do not conflict with this Order.

Proposed exhibits must be PDFs, audio files must be MP3 or WAV, and video files must be AVI, MOV, or MP4.

Do not attach written discovery, objections, or responses to the motion or response unless needed to show an inaccurate quotation; in that case attach only the necessary pages and highlight the error.

Contested motions and responses must be written in 12-to-14-point font, well organized, use complete sentences, and include a separate proposed order granting or denying the requested relief.

Do not attach written discovery or related objections and responses to a motion or response unless needed to show an inaccurate quotation; then attach only the necessary pages and highlight the error.

Documents containing sensitive data must have that data redacted before attorneys or parties file them.

Cases in which the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is a party must be sealed by the Montgomery County District Clerk.

Any document containing Protected Health Information that is offered in Court must be sealed for exhibit filing with the District Clerk and for the appellate record, whether or not it is redacted or admitted.

The clerk assigns a new file date and cause number to a severed case after the party seeking severance pays all clerk fees, unless the severance order specifies otherwise.

Discovery motions are to present each disputed request, its related objections and responses, and related arguments together in one document.

If the Movant wishes to do so, the Movant may prepare a succinct Reply to each discrete response immediately below that particular response and will electronically serve and file any such Reply in the usual fashion.