Northern District of Texas Pre-Motion Conference Requirements

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Required

Always ?

The Court expects the parties to have meaningfully met and conferred about evidence and exhibits BEFORE the pretrial conference. At the pretrial conference, the Court will consider only the unresolved objections to exhibits and evidence.

Summary: Parties must meet and confer about evidence/exhibits before pretrial conference; only unresolved objections will be considered.

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Rule 26(f) Scheduling Conference - The Court requires the parties to comply, in person, with the conference requirements of Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The Court does not require a face-to-face meeting in cases involving pro se or prisoner litigants.

Summary: Rule 26(f) conference required in person for represented parties; not required for pro se/prisoner cases.

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To advance the case efficiently and minimize the cost of litigation, the Court will provide parties an opportunity to amend their pleadings once before considering a Federal Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss. The following procedure must be followed before any party files a Motion to Dismiss under Federal Rule 12(b)(6):

Summary: Pre-motion conference required before filing Rule 12(b)(6) motions.

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If the Complaint is not so amended by the established deadline, the Defendant may file a Federal Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss. If the Defendant believes any Amended Complaint is still deficient, the Defendant shall file the Motion within the time prescribed by Federal Rule 12(a).

Summary: Rule 12(b)(6) motion permitted if complaint not amended by deadline.

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Counsel shall confer with opposing counsel and provide written notice prior to filing a Federal Rule 12(b)(6) Motion to Dismiss: • To facilitate the efficient progression of litigation, a party or counsel who anticipates filing a Motion to Dismiss under Federal Rule 12(b)(6) must first confer with opposing counsel concerning the proposed deficiencies and the expected basis of the Motion. This conference shall include written (email or certified mail) notification of the Plaintiff’s right to amend the pleading under these procedures, specifying the proposed deficiencies and the deadlines below.

Summary: Written notice of deficiencies required before Rule 12(b)(6) motions.

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The Court will strike any Federal Rule 12(b) Motion to Dismiss if it does not contain the required Certificate of Conference, which

Summary: Rule 12(b) motions without certificate of conference will be stricken.

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Following this notification conference, if the Plaintiff intends to amend the pleading, the Plaintiff shall file an Advisory of such intent with the Court within seven (7) days of receipt of the notification letter. The Amended Complaint must be filed within seven (7) days of the filing date of the Advisory.

Summary: Advisory of intent to amend required within 7 days; amended complaint due 7 days after advisory.

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Civil cases

In part Local Rule 5.1(a) reads as follows: "Before filing a motion, counsel for a moving party shall confer with the counsel of all parties affected by the requested relief to determine whether or not the contemplated motion will be opposed." A conference requires the participation of counsel for all affected parties. An attorney's refusal to return a call requesting a Rule 5.1(a) conference will not be tolerated. Of course, the conference requirement may be satisfied by a written communication as well.

Summary: Local Rule 5.1(a) requires moving party's counsel to confer with all affected parties' counsel before filing any motion; conference may be written, refusal to participate is prohibited.

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Required

Always ?

Preliminary Pretrial Conference ("Rule 16 Conference") - Unless a Rule 16 (a) scheduling conference is set by the Court, Judge Brown will enter a scheduling order after reviewing the Joint Status Report from the parties as required by the order requiring attorney conference and Joint Status Report.

Summary: Rule 16 conference will be set unless Court schedules otherwise; scheduling order follows Joint Status Report.