Willacy County Court Filing Timing and Cure Windows

CRITICAL

Except in emergencies when the District Clerk’s office is closed, an application for immediate or temporary relief must be filed and assigned before it is presented to a judge.

Except in emergencies when the District Clerk's office is not open for business, no application for immediate or temporary relief shall be presented to a Judge until it has been filed and assigned to a Court as provided in Rule 1.1.

CRITICAL

A temporary order requiring a subsequent hearing cannot be issued or considered enforceable until the hearing date and time have been obtained.

Where a temporary order requires a subsequent hearing pursuant to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and/or substantive law, including all cases in which a temporary restraining order has been granted, a date and time for the required hearing must be obtained from the Court Coordinator of the Court in which the case has been assigned before the temporary order can be issued or considered enforceable.

CRITICAL

Applications for ex parte orders must be presented in accordance with Rule 1.2.

(a) All applications for ex parte orders shall be presented in accordance with Rule 1.2.

WARNING

For determining whether a case is earlier or later, use the date stamp on the first pleading and any endorsed filing time; if no time is endorsed, assume it was filed at 4:59 p.m.

Whether a case is "earlier" or "later" as those terms are used in this rule will be determined by the date-stamp from the District Clerk's office on the face of the first pleading filed in the case, and if necessary, any time of filing endorsed on that stamp. Where no time of filing is endorsed on the stamp the time filed will be assumed to have been 4:59 p.m.

CRITICAL

When the docket control order refers expert disclosures to the Rules and does not specify the relevant dates, Defendants' and Third Party Defendants' experts must be designated 60 days before trial.

Whenever a court's docket control order provides that expert designation obligations shall be handled pursuant to or by "the Rules," the dates in this subsection shall govern. If the docket control order does not specify dates on which each party's experts are to be designated, nor dates for disclosure information under Tex.R. Civ.P. 194 to be provided, the dates for such disclosures shall be as follows: For Defendants'/Third Party Defendants' experts - 60 days prior to trial

CRITICAL

When the docket control order refers expert disclosures to the Rules and does not specify the relevant dates, Plaintiffs' and Third Party Plaintiffs' experts must be designated 90 days before trial.

Whenever a court's docket control order provides that expert designation obligations shall be handled pursuant to or by "the Rules," the dates in this subsection shall govern. If the docket control order does not specify dates on which each party's experts are to be designated, nor dates for disclosure information under Tex.R. Civ.P. 194 to be provided, the dates for such disclosures shall be as follows: For Plaintiffs'/Third Party Plaintiffs' experts - 90 days prior to trial

CRITICAL

When pleadings have been on file seven or fewer days before trial, dilatory pleas and special exceptions must be presented before trial begins.

If pleadings have been on file seven (7) or fewer days before trial is scheduled to commence, any dilatory pleas and special exceptions to those pleadings shall be presented to the Court before trial commences.

CRITICAL

A pleading amendment permitted during trial is due no later than the start of the charge conference unless the order sets a different time limit.

(D) Any order permitting a party to amend that party's pleading during trial shall be deemed to require the amended pleading to be filed no later than commencement of the charge conference. Such orders may specify a different time limit.

CRITICAL

When an order requires an amended pleading within seven days, the Court must specify its due date when making the ruling.

If special exceptions are granted or other orders of the Court entered which would require amendment of pleadings within seven (7) days, the Court shall specify at the time it makes its ruling the date on which the amended pleading necessitated by that ruling shall be due.

CRITICAL

When pleadings have been on file more than seven but fewer than 30 days before trial, dilatory pleas and special exceptions must be presented at a scheduled pretrial conference, or before trial if no final conference is scheduled or held, or they are waived.

If pleadings have been on file more than seven (7) days but less than thirty (30) days before trial is scheduled to commence, any dilatory pleas and special exceptions to those pleadings are deemed waived unless timely filed and presented to the Court at any scheduled pre-trial conference; if there is no scheduled final pre-trial conference, or it is not held, such pleas and exceptions shall be presented to the Court before trial commences.

CRITICAL

An amended pleading required by an order sustaining a special exception or requiring amendment is due within 20 days after the order or seven days before trial, whichever comes first, unless the order sets another time limit.

An order sustaining a special exception or requiring a party to amend that party's pleading shall be deemed to require the amended pleading to be filed within 20 days after the order is signed or seven (7) days before trial commences, whichever date comes first. Such orders may specify a different time limit.

CRITICAL

Unless the Court directs otherwise, proposed orders, decisions, and judgments must be submitted within 30 days after rendition or announcement of settlement.

Unless the Court directs otherwise, counsel shall submit proposed orders, decisions, and judgments to the Court for approval and signature within thirty (30) days after rendition or announcements of settlement.

CRITICAL

If pleadings have been on file thirty (30) days before trial is scheduled to commence, any dilatory pleas and special exceptions to those pleadings are deemed waived unless timely filed and presented to the Court for ruling ten (10) days before the date the case is scheduled to commence trial.

If pleadings have been on file thirty (30) days before trial is scheduled to commence, any dilatory pleas and special exceptions to those pleadings are deemed waived unless timely filed and presented to the Court for ruling ten (10) days before the date the case is scheduled to commence trial.

CRITICAL

A party serving in both defendant and plaintiff-like roles must meet the Plaintiffs' and Third Party Plaintiffs' expert designation date for issues on which it seeks affirmative relief.

If a party is both a Defendant and a Third Party Plaintiff, Cross-Plaintiff and/or Counter-Plaintiff, then as to all issues on which it is seeking affirmative relief from another party, the expert designation date is the date for Plaintiffs'/Third Party Plaintiffs' experts.

CRITICAL

The Plaintiff must request an initial pretrial conference no later than the 90th day after suit is filed; any other party may request one as well.

(a) No later than the 90t day after suit is filed, Plaintiff shall request and any other party may request an initial pre-trial conference.

WARNING

Failure to timely submit a proposed judgment or order disposing of the entire case may be considered grounds for dismissal for want of prosecution under Rule 1.14.

Failure to submit timely a proposed judgment or order disposing of the entire case may be considered as grounds to dismiss for want of prosecution under Rule 1.14.

WARNING

After notice that a case is subject to dismissal for want of prosecution, the plaintiff must request a setting or take other appropriate action within 30 days to avoid that dismissal ground.

Failure of Plaintiff to request a setting or take other appropriate action within thirty (30) days of notice from the Court that the case is subject to being dismissed for want of prosecution.