Bexar County District Courts Filing Rules

Failure to appear at a trial docket may result in dismissal or default judgment.

If the parties cannot obtain approval as to form of an order, counsel/litigants must file a motion to enter and secure a hearing date.

Proposed jury instructions must at minimum include the prima facie elements of each cause of action and defense, required legal definitions, items of damages, and methods of calculating damages.

Any use of generative AI must be verified as legally accurate by an attorney licensed in Texas or a self-represented litigant before submission, with acknowledgment of responsibility for non-compliance.

Parties seeking an in-person or Zoom hearing must confer with opposing counsel to select a date and file a Notice of Hearing stating the selected date and explaining how much time is needed and why.

A motion for Extended Assignment must include a Notice of Submission setting the submission date no less than 5 days after the motion is filed.

Final judgments/orders must be reduced to writing within 30 days and delivered to the Court for signature.

The hearing-setting and ruling timeline is paused if a summary judgment motion is withdrawn and refiled.

Summary judgment motions are set and heard by the 438th District Court (not the Presiding Court), with the Clerk selecting a hearing date within 35-60 days of filing and entering settings into Odyssey.

The filing party must file a notice of hearing within 3 days of receiving the hearing date from the court.

For hearings with time announcements of 3 hours or more, all parties will be given a time to briefly discuss the contested issues with the Court (via Zoom or in person) before the hearing date is provided.

Each MTE hearing is limited to 15 minutes.

The parties and all agents with settlement authority must attend mediation unless the Court grants leave excusing attendance.

Before requesting a hearing, counsel must confer with the opposing party about the dispute, with a minimum of three legitimate conferral attempts required on non-emergency issues.

The clerk must confirm settings before a notice of hearing is filed, and settings without prior court approval may not be honored.

All docket settings are handled by the Presiding Civil District Clerk, who can be reached at 210-335-2000.

Counsel must contact the Clerk by e-mail, letter, or phone to arrange testing courtroom equipment before trial, and parties providing their own equipment must make special arrangements with the Clerk before the day of trial.

For emergency matters, parties must notify the clerk immediately so the court will treat the issue as urgent and provide an expedited emergency hearing as soon as possible.

Disputes over the form of an order must be set by a Motion to Enter Order (MTE) with the 438th District Court and may not be litigated via email with the court.

A hearing setting must be confirmed with the clerk before filing a notice of hearing; settings without prior court approval may not be honored.

An order must be eFiled only once; duplicate eFiling of the same order creates longer processing times.

Agreed orders signed by all attorneys of record and any self-represented litigants may be e-filed as proposed orders and signed by the Court without a hearing.

Parties must file all documents through the District Court's Electronic Case Filing System.

Settings for final hearings on the merits cannot be continued or dropped without court approval.

Even agreed resets of a summary judgment hearing must comply with the 60-day statutory deadline, and resets within the 90-day deadline require the movant's consent or good cause.

The Court will not pass (continue) a trial setting because of another trial setting unless the attorney has actually commenced trial in court.

Trial settings may only be passed or reset by a settlement announced in open court, an Agreed Order to Dismiss/all-party agreement with Court approval, or a Motion for Continuance granted by the Court.

Agreed resets must comply with the statutory 60-day deadline; resets within the 90-day deadline require the movant’s consent or a court finding of good cause, settings cannot be dropped without leave, and resets must be confirmed with the Clerk before notice is filed.

Defendants must receive at least 10 days' notice of a pretrial hearing.

A Notice of Setting must be delivered to each attorney of record and/or self-represented litigant.

Please ensure all counsel of record and self-represented litigants are copied.

Written copies of summary-judgment motions, including all exhibits, must be provided to opposing counsel at least seven days in advance.

Each requested jury instruction must be numbered and presented with supporting authority.

When appearing remotely, statutorily-required documents, pleadings, and proposed orders must be in digital PDF format.

The court prefers one party to draft the order with the other submitting visible redline edits shareable via Zoom screen share, and disfavors two competing orders though it recognizes this is sometimes necessary.

Written copies of summary-judgment motions, including all exhibits, must be provided to opposing counsel and the Court at least seven days in advance.

The District Clerk processes signed orders and provides courtesy copies to all attorneys and self-represented litigants.

Parties must provide courtesy copies of all documents pertaining to matters heard by the Court.

The parties must email the Court a complete electronic courtesy copy of the summary-judgment motion papers and supporting exhibits no later than seven days before the hearing, copying all counsel and self-represented litigants.

Parties must email the Court a complete electronic courtesy copy of the summary judgment motion, response, reply, and supporting exhibits no later than seven days before the hearing.

More than one interim voucher may be submitted in competency and sanity cases when necessary and appropriate.

Motions and Orders should be filed separately. Refer to Local Rule F(1).

Parties must file a single, joint proposed jury charge including all necessary instructions, definitions, and questions.

Motions for Extended Assignment and any response are limited to 5 pages each, and replies or sur-replies are not allowed.