Dallas County Civil District Courts Adjournment & Extension Requirements

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Jury trial settings are continued automatically; no motion for continuance is required.

Cases that have been set on the Court's jury docket between the effective date of this Order and May 8, 2020 are hereby continued sua sponte and do not require any party to file a Motion for Continuance.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026CRITICAL

Civil cases

Non-jury trial settings are continued upon written request to the court coordinator; a formal motion is not required.

Cases set on the Court's non-jury trial docket from the effective date of this Order until May 8, 2020 will be continued upon written request by any party to the court coordinator. A formal motion is not required. Cases so continued shall be reset at the Court's earliest opportunity (whether those dates correspond with Non-jury dockets or otherwise).

Checked against the court's document on Sep 20, 2026CRITICAL

Jury usage is suspended until May 8, 2020, and jury cases set for trial in that period are continued sua sponte and reset on future jury trial dockets.

Pursuant to the Declaration of the Hon. Clay Jenkins, Dallas County Judge, the utilization of Juries in the George Allen Civil Courts Building is hereby suspended until May 8, 2020, or until further Order from the County Judge. Cases which have been previously set on the respective District Courts' Jury dockets between the effective date of this Order and May 8, 2020 are hereby Continued sua sponte and shall be reset on future Jury Trial dockets of each of the respective Courts, consistent with the existing applicable rules and policies of each of said Courts.

Checked against the court's document on Sep 21, 2026WARNING

Civil cases

The Court generally grants a first continuance but will not grant a continuance after multiple trial settings even by agreement; parties may set the motion for hearing to explain extenuating circumstances.

The Court will consider all motions for continuance and will generally grant a continuance of the first trial setting. If there have been multiple trial settings, the court will not grant the continuance, even with the agreement of all parties. However, the parties may set the continuance motion for hearing to explain to the court the extenuating circumstances.

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Civil cases

Cases which have been previously set on the respective District Courts' Jury dockets between the effective date of this Order and May 8, 2020 are hereby Continued sua sponte and shall be reset on future Jury Trial dockets of each of the respective Courts, consistent with the existing applicable rules and policies of each of said Courts.

Summary: Previously set jury trials within the suspension period are automatically continued and reset on future jury trial dockets.

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Civil cases

Any continuance requested because of lack of discovery or because of discovery issues, must be filed at least thirty (30) days before trial, and should detail the discovery efforts and outstanding discovery as of the date of the filing of the motion.

Summary: Discovery-based continuance motions must be filed at least 30 days before trial and must detail outstanding discovery efforts.

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Civil cases

If a continuance is opposed by a party, the motion should be filed and set for the hearing at least seven (7) days prior to trial.

Summary: Opposed continuance motions must be filed and set for hearing at least 7 days before trial.

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Civil cases

Pursuant to the Declaration of the Hon. Clay Jenkins, Dallas County Judge, the utilization of Juries in the George Allen Civil Courts Building is hereby suspended until May 8, 2020, or until further Order from the County Judge. Cases which have been previously set on the respective District Courts' Jury dockets between the effective date of this Order and May 8, 2020 are hereby Continued sua sponte and shall be reset on future Jury Trial dockets of each of the respective Courts, consistent with the existing applicable rules and policies of each of said Courts.

Summary: Jury trials are suspended until May 8, 2020, and previously set jury cases are continued sua sponte and reset on future jury dockets.

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trial shall be granted unless counsel for all parties consent, or unless all parties not joining in such request or their counsel have been notified and have had opportunity to object; provided, however, that failure to make an announcement under Local Rule 3.02 shall constitute that party's consent to pass, postpone, reset or dismiss for want of prosecution any case set for trial the following week.

Summary: Passing, postponing, or resetting a case requires consent of all parties or notice with opportunity to object; failure to announce readiness constitutes consent.

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After a case has been on file for one year, it shall not be reset for a party except upon written motion for continuance, personally approved by the client in writing, and granted by the Court. Except as provided by statute, no party is entitled of right to a "pass" of any trial setting.

Summary: After one year on file, a case may only be reset upon a written motion for continuance personally approved by the client in writing and granted by the Court.

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Civil cases

For cases less than one year old, no hearing is necessary for agreed motions. For cases 18 months or older, your client(s) MUST sign-off on any agreed motions. All agreed motions for continuance shall contain a mutually agreed upon date for a new trial setting and shall conform to the requirements of the Dallas County Local Rules.

Summary: Agreed motions for continuance must include a mutually agreed new trial date and conform to Dallas County Local Rules; no hearing is required for cases under one year old, but client sign-off is mandatory for cases 18 months or older.

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Civil cases

Cases which have been previously set on the respective District Courts' Jury dockets between the effective date of this Order and May 8, 2020 are hereby Continued sua sponte and shall be reset on future Jury Trial dockets of each of the respective Courts, consistent with the existing applicable rules and policies of each of said Courts.

Summary: Jury trial cases set between the effective date and May 8, 2020 are continued sua sponte and reset on future jury trial dockets.

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Civil cases

The Court requires a motion for a continuance. The Court has no specific requirement on how early or late the request should be made, however requests should be timely, and parties should be aware that the Court may not have an opportunity to review late-filed motions. Agreed motions for continuance will be reviewed by submission, but the court may contact parties to set a phone conference in older cases. Motions for continuance that are not agreed upon must be set for a hearing with the clerks.

Summary: A motion is required for a continuance; agreed motions are reviewed by submission, while non-agreed motions must be set for a hearing.

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Cases which have been previously set on the respective District Courts' Jury dockets between the effective date of this Order and May 8, 2020 are hereby Continued sua sponte and shall be reset on future Jury Trial dockets of each of the respective Courts, consistent with the existing applicable rules and policies of each of said Courts.

Summary: Jury trials set between the effective date and May 8, 2020 are continued sua sponte and reset on future jury trial dockets.

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Civil cases

Any continuance requested because of lack of discovery or because of discovery issues, must be filed at least thirty (30) days before trial, and should detail the discovery efforts and outstanding discovery as of the date of the filing of the motion.

Summary: Discovery-based continuance motions must be filed at least 30 days before trial and must detail discovery efforts and outstanding discovery.

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Civil cases

The Court may, upon notice, cancel any proceeding that requires the involvement of a person infected with COVID19, showing symptoms, waiting for test results, or under self or ordered quarantine if the person will be required to personally present in a setting that would expose others or violate quarantine standards set by Center for Disease Control or their health care provider.

Summary: The Court may cancel any proceeding involving a person who is infected with COVID-19, symptomatic, awaiting test results, or under quarantine if personal presence would expose others or violate CDC/healthcare quarantine standards.

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Civil cases

the DWOP dockets and status conference dockets may be handled by submission with an email to the 193rd Court Coordinator (Cynthia.Willis@dallascounty.org) explaining your request for additional time. The court will then determine if and how much additional time will be given and reset the case for a future hearing.

Summary: Requests for additional time on DWOP and status conference dockets are made by email to the court coordinator; the court decides whether and how much additional time to grant and resets the case.

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The parties may file a continuance, and the first continuance will be granted provided the case is less than one year in age. Cases over one year must comply with Local Rule 3.01, and a hearing may also be required.

Summary: The first continuance is granted if the case is under one year old; older cases must comply with Local Rule 3.01 and may require a hearing.

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DWOP hearings are generally NOT reset if a call is received on the day of hearing.

Summary: DWOP hearings are generally not reset if a call is received on the day of the hearing.

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If a plaintiff needs more time to effect service, etc., advise the coordinator prior to the hearing and the dismissal time may be extended.

Summary: A plaintiff needing more time to effect service should advise the coordinator before the hearing to extend the dismissal time.

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Civil cases

The Plaintiff must contact the court coordinator prior to the DWOP docket for an extension.

Summary: A plaintiff must contact the court coordinator before the DWOP docket to obtain an extension.

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The continuance of a Trial Setting does not automatically alter the deadlines in the Court's Scheduling Order. If the parties do not request an obtain a continuance of the pre-trial deadlines, the Court will enforce the deadlines set by the original Scheduling Order calculated according to the original Trial Setting.

Summary: A continuance of the trial setting does not automatically alter scheduling order deadlines; the original deadlines remain in effect unless separately continued.

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For cases that have been on file for less than a year, the first motion for continuance of the Trial Setting date will be granted, absent extenuating circumstances. For all cases that have been on file for more than a year, all requests for a continuance of the Trial Setting, whether or not agreed, must be signed by all parties, as well as by counsel. Multiple requests to continue the Trial Setting are disfavored and the Court may require a hearing, even if the motion is agreed. Absent extenuating circumstances, the failure of the parties to meet the deadlines stated by the Court's Scheduling Order (including mediation deadline and completion of discovery) shall not be sufficient grounds for a continuance.

Summary: First continuance motions are granted for cases under a year old; all requests in cases over a year old must be signed by all parties and counsel; multiple requests are disfavored and may require a hearing; failure to meet scheduling deadlines is not grounds for a continuance.

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Civil cases

A Motion for Continuance should be filed as far in advance of trial as possible and be specific as to why a continuance is needed. If discovery has not been conducted, the parties must explain why and how such discovery is material to the case. Continuances will not be granted due to a party’s failure to schedule mediation prior to the trial date. Each request for continuance will be considered on a case-by-case basis, even if the motion is agreed to by all parties.

Summary: Continuance motions must be filed early, be specific, explain uncompleted discovery, and are considered case-by-case.

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Civil cases

Motions to continue any hearing on a Motion for Summary Judgment will be considered upon showing of good cause.

Summary: Motions to continue a summary judgment hearing require a showing of good cause.

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Civil cases

If a case is over one year old and all parties agree to a continuance, all clients and attorneys must sign the motion for proposed order. In accordance with the Local Rules, a party’s written consent is required on cases that are more than a year old, even if the motion is agreed by all counsel.

Summary: For cases over a year old, all clients and attorneys must sign the motion for proposed order, and a party's written consent is required even if the motion is agreed by all counsel.

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Civil cases

A h earing on the motion must be filed and set for hearing at least fourteen (14) days prior to trial, except upon

Summary: A hearing on a continuance motion must be filed and set for hearing at least 14 days before trial.

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Civil cases

Permission to file a brief in excess of these page limitations may be granted by the Presiding Judge of any particular Court upon a showing of compelling reasons.

Summary: Permission to exceed page limits may be granted by the Presiding Judge upon a showing of compelling reasons.

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Civil cases

The Court will grant the first continuance for cases that are one year or younger. The Court will only grant continuances on case by case basis thereafter.

Summary: The first continuance is granted for cases one year or younger; subsequent continuances are decided case by case.

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Civil cases

If a party has a conflict with a setting based on any religious holiday or tradition, the court will be as flexible as possible in accommodating any party. Please contact the court coordinator in the event of such a conflict.

Summary: The Court will be flexible in accommodating parties with religious holiday conflicts; parties should contact the court coordinator.