1. TEXAS RULES OF
CIVIL PROCEDURE: The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended, are
adopted and shall be adhered to in all civil proceedings. Wherever
there may be a conflict in local rules and the Texas rules, the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure shall govern.
2. FAMILY DISTRICT
COURT MATTERS: In all cases arising under the Texas Family
Code, the rules adopted by the 300th Judicial District Court are
adopted and will be adhered to in these courts.
3. FILING:
Cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed $100,000.00 shall be filed
with the County Clerk.
4. TRIAL SESSIONS:
Each court shall schedule certain weeks for civil trials. This
schedule will be posted at the office of the County Clerk, Civil Division, and
shall be available at the office of the Court Coordinator of each respective
court. Cases may be transferred from one court to the other at the discretion
and consent of the respective judges.
5. SETTINGS:
All settings of cases filed in the 300th Judicial District Court
(e.g. Family Court matters) shall be requested through the Court Coordinator of
that Court. The Court Coordinator of the 300th Judicial District
Court will set a Family Court docket in one of the Courts at Law according to
the schedules furnished by the Courts at Law.
All other civil cases may be set at
the request of any attorney of record or by the respective Court.
Counsel shall be entitled to 45 days advance notice of a trial setting.
REQUESTS FOR SETTINGS SHALL BE IN WRITING, SIGNED BY THE ATTORNEY MAKING THE
REQUEST AND ADDRESSED TO THE JUDGE OF THE COURT IN WHICH THE CASE IS FILED.
Requests for settings shall contain the following information:
- Number and style of the case;
- Whether jury or non-jury;
- Certification that pleadings are in order and that discovery is complete;
- Name, address and telephone number of each attorney of record and
certification that each attorney has been served with a copy of the request.
The Clerk of each respective Court
shall notify the attorney of record of the setting time and date.
After an attorney of record has been notified of a setting, the Courts will
presume that there is no conflicting setting unless the Court is notified in
writing within ten (10) days of receipt of notice by the attorney of record that
a conflict exists. Such notice of conflicting setting shall include the number
and style of any case previously set and the court in which the conflicting case
is set.
6. VACATIONS OF
COUNSEL:
6.1 DESIGNATION
OF VACATION: Subject to the provisions of subparts .2 and .3 of this rule,
an attorney may designate not more than four (4) weeks of vacation during a
calendar year as vacation, during which that attorney will not be assigned to
trial or required to engage in any pretrial proceedings. This rule
operates only where lead counsel, as defined by T.R.C.P. 8, is affected, unless
the trial court expands coverage to other counsel.
6.2 SUMMER
VACATIONS: Written designation for vacation weeks during June, July and/or
August must be filed with the County Clerk by May 15 of each respective year.
Summer vacations weeks so designated will protect the attorney from
trials during those summer weeks, even if an order setting the case for trial
was signed before the vacation designation was filed.
6.3 NON-SUMMER
VACATIONS: Written designation for vacation in months other than June, July
and/or August must be filed with the County Clerk by no later than 90 days prior
to the weeks being designated. Non-summer vacation weeks may not
run consecutively for more than two (2) weeks at a time. Non-summer vacation
weeks so designated will not protect an attorney from a trial by an order signed
before the designation is filed.
7. CASE NUMBER AND
COURT ASSIGNMENT: Filing of civil cases is the Courts at Law shall be by
alternating each case filed so that each of the 3 courts shall receive an equal
number of cases. Each case number will be followed by a letter to
indicate in which court the case has been filed. The letter shall be the first
initial of the last name of the judge of that respective court.
8. DOCKET CALL:
Civil jury dockets will be called on Monday or the first working day of the week
in which jury trials are set. Non-jury trials may be called at any
time and date set by the Court. Dismissal dockets will be called at the
discretion of the respective judges. After notice of setting of a
case on the dismissal docket, unless the attorney or attorneys for Plaintiff are
ready and announce ready for trial, the case will be dismissed at the call of
the docket.
9. AGREED PASS:
Cases may be passed from the date set only upon agreement of the opposing
counsel AND the Judge of the Court in which the case is filed.
10. SETTING ANCILLARY AND
PROBATE DOCKET: Requests for hearing non-contested motions and other
ancillary civil matters and probate matters shall be made by telephone or in
writing to the Judge of the Court in which the case is filed. The
requesting attorney shall give proper notice as required by the Texas Rules of
Civil Procedure to all opposing attorneys of such setting.
11. JUVENILE COURT MATTERS:
Cases wherein juveniles are charged with delinquent conduct and cases where
children are alleged to be in need of supervision will be set for hearing by the
Court or by the Juvenile Probation Department as directed by the respective
Court. Notice provisions applicable to other civil proceedings are
not necessarily applicable to these proceedings which shall be handled in
accordance with the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the Texas Family Code.
12. APPLICATION OF LOCAL RULES:
The foregoing rules are hereby adopted by the County Court at Law #1 & Probate
Court, County Court at Law #2 & Probate Court, and County Court at Law #3 &
Probate Court for Brazoria County, Texas. These rules, together
with such amendments as may hereafter be adopted by these courts shall serve as
the procedure for civil matters in these courts.
ADOPTED and SIGNED this 1st
day of October, 2003.
/s/ Jerri Lee
Mills
JERRI LEE MILLS,
Judge
County Court at
Law #1 & Probate
Court
/s/ Marc W.
Holder
MARC W. HOLDER,
Judge
County Court at
Law #2 & Probate
Court
/s/ James
Blackstock
JAMES BLACKSTOCK,
Judge
County Court at
Law #3 & Probate
Court
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