All local rules for S.D. Tex., integrated with this judge's published requirements.
Silent on district-wide page limits for motions. S.D. Tex. LR 7 (silent) ↗
Silent on district-wide page limits for opposition briefs. S.D. Tex. LR 7.4 (silent) ↗
Silent on district-wide page limits for reply briefs. S.D. Tex. LR 7.4.E (silent) ↗
All briefs, legal memorandum, motions, and pleadings of any kind shall be limited to 25 pages, unless permitted by the Court to exceed this limit.
All briefs, legal memorandum, motions, and pleadings of any kind shall be limited to 25 pages, unless permitted by the Court to exceed this limit.
If the movant desires to file a reply, it must be filed within 10 days thereafter.
Opposed motions will be submitted to the judge 21 days from filing without notice from the clerk and without appearance by counsel. S.D. Tex. LR 7.3 ↗
B. By Order When oral presentation is required by the Court, counsel will be notified by the clerk of a date for oral presentation irrespective of any submission day. S.D. Tex. LR 7.5.B ↗
Opposed motions shall: A. Be in writing; B. Include or be accompanied by authority; C. Be accompanied by a separate proposed order granting the relief requested and setting forth information sufficient to communicate the nature of the relief granted; S.D. Tex. LR 7.1.C ↗
A. By Request If a party views oral argument as helpful to the Court, the motion or response may include a request for it. If it is granted, the parties will be notified by the clerk. S.D. Tex. LR 7.5.A ↗
In order to curtail undue delay in the administration of justice, the Court will not hear discovery motions unless moving counsel has advised the Court, in the motion, that counsel have conferred in a good faith effort to resolve the matters in dispute but are unable to reach an agreement. If counsel have been unable to confer because of unavailability or unwillingness of opposing counsel to do so, the statement shall recite the facts concerning attempts to confer. Routine motions for sanctions for discovery abuse are discouraged. Sanctions should be sought only in those rare instances when they are necessary and merited.
The Southern District of Texas requires electronic filing of all pleadings. LR 5.1. This reduces the burden on the Clerk’s Office and increases the efficiency of the Court. Generally, parties should not submit courtesy hard copies to the Case Manager. Nevertheless, parties should submit courtesy hard copies to the Case Manager if any part of a filing is sealed. Additionally, the Court may request a courtesy hard copy of any party at any time and the parties should promptly deliver the copy to Chambers. Source ↗
Any party wishing to raise disputed discovery or other pretrial matters must arrange for a conference with the Court before filing any motion, brief, or accompanying material. The party must email the Case Manager and opposing counsel to arrange for a pre-motion conference. Prior to arranging for this conference, the parties must have actually conferred in an attempt to work out the issues. Merely sending an e-mail or making a phone call is not a valid attempt to work out the dispute. The attorneys must have actually talked. See Section 7C above. The Court will schedule the pre-motion conference as soon as practicable commensurate to the demands of its docket, generally within a few days after the request is made. Unless otherwise directed, counsel may participate only by a land-based telephone. The party seeking the conference must submit a one- to two-page letter to the Court with copies to all counsel and unrepresented parties, identifying the disputes and setting out the issues to be addressed. This is not a brief and need not set out case law or argument. Instead, the letter is an agenda for the pre-motion conference and should simply set out the dispute. Opposing parties must respond in similar fashion before the Conference, with the same limitations. The letters must include a written statement that counsel have actually conferred in a good-faith effort to resolve the issues but are unable to reach an agreement. To the extent possible, the disputed issues will be resolved at the pre-motion conference, without the need for a formal motion or response. If the Court cannot resolve all or part of the issues raised without a written submission and response, the issues to be addressed and a filing schedule will be set during the conference. Source ↗