Northern District of Texas Document Filing Requirements

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Applies to

Pleading

Must include

certificate of service ?

Electronic Filing and Service - Counsel must ensure that all pleadings filed via the CM/ECF system strictly comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2 and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1. These rules regulate the transmission of private and case sensitive information through the CM/ECF system.

Summary: All CM/ECF filings must comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5.2 and Fed. R. Crim. P. 49.1 regarding private/case sensitive information.

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Applies to

Joint status report

Must include

certificate of service ?

The parties must discuss at the Rule 26(f) meeting, and include in the Joint Status Report filed with the court, the matters listed in Rule 26(f) that apply to the case.

Summary: Rule 26(f) meeting topics must be included in Joint Status Report.

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Applies to

Motion

Must include

certificate of conference ?

The Judge’s scheduling order imposes deadlines on the parties. The scheduling order cannot be modified by the parties without leave of court. The parties must file requests for extensions of time as motions, rather than as stipulations.

Summary: Scheduling order deadlines cannot be modified without leave of court; extension requests must be filed as motions.

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Applies to

Sur reply

Must include

court permission ?

Do not file a sur-reply absent alternate permission from the Court.

Summary: Sur-replies prohibited without court permission.

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Applies to

Brief ?

Must include

certificate of word count

PROVIDE A CERTIFICATE OF WORD COUNT FOLLOWING THE SIGNATURE BLOCK. Reliance on word-processor register is sufficient in this regard.

Summary: Certificate of word count required after signature block.

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Applies to

Brief

Any motion, response, reply, brief, or memorandum that has more than ten (10) pages of argument must contain all of the following: 1. A table of contents setting forth the page number of each section, including all headings designated in the body of the brief or memorandum; 2. A table of citations of cases, statutes, rules, textbooks, and other authorities, alphabetically arranged; 3. A short statement of the nature and stage of the proceeding; 4. A statement of the issues to be ruled on by the court and a short statement, supported by authority, of the standard of review for each issue; 5. A short summary of the argument; 6. Informative headings identifying separate sections of the argument; and 7. A short conclusion stating the precise relief sought.

Summary: Documents over 10 pages of argument require TOC, TOA, statement of proceeding, issues/standard of review, summary, informative headings, and conclusion.

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Applies to

Brief ?

Provide pinpoint citation for all legal authority. Do the same for evidence. For instance, cite to page and line for depositions, to page and paragraph number for affidavits and pleadings, and to page and section number for contracts and similar materials. Use Bates number as the page reference where available.

Summary: Pinpoint citations required for all legal authority and evidence with specific formats.

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Applies to

Brief ?

Must include

word count, certificate of word count ?

PROVIDE A CERTIFICATE OF WORD COUNT FOLLOWING THE SIGNATURE BLOCK. Reliance on word-processor register is sufficient in this regard. Word limits shall not include the case caption, table of contents, table of authorities, signature block, and certificates. However, word counts shall include footnotes.

Summary: Certificate of word count required after signature block; footnotes included in count.

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Applies to

Motion

Must include

certificate of conference

When a party files a Motion to Dismiss under Federal Rule 12(b), a Certificate of Conference shall accompany the Motion expressly stating the movant complied with this Standing Order by informing the Plaintiff of the basis of any anticipated motion, the date of this notice, and noting the non-movant did not timely amend its pleading or the amended pleading is still deficient.

Summary: Certificate of conference required with Rule 12(b) motions.

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Applies to

Proposed order

Must include

proposed order

A proposed order must be submitted via e-mail in a Word compatible format as instructed in the CM/ECF system’s 'Proposed Orders' event. The proposed orders must be e-mailed to: brown_orders@txnd.uscourts.gov and must include the case number and the document number of the referenced motion in the subject line. Copy opposing counsel on the email when submitting the proposed order.

Summary: Proposed orders must be emailed in Word format to specific address with case number and motion document number in subject line.

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Applies to

Motion

All positions and statements contained in the body of any motion, response, or reply must contain specific cites to the record supporting the party’s statement in the body of the document. The Court will not search the record for evidence and may not consider any evidence that is not specifically cited in the parties’ briefs.

Summary: All motions, responses, and replies must cite specific record evidence in the body.

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Applies to

Motion

All legal positions and statements contained in the body of any motion, response, or reply must contain specific cites to the law in the body of the document. The Court prefers case law citations to Westlaw.

Summary: All motions, responses, and replies must cite specific legal authority in the body.

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Applies to

Sentencing hearing

Criminal Sentencing Proceedings - For sentencing hearings-only 10 family members and/or friends will be allowed in the courtroom.

Summary: Sentencing hearings limited to 10 family members/friends in courtroom.