{"courtSectionTextID":1447,"courtID":15,"title":"Court Procedures","sectionText":"


Mandatory Electronic Filing:

In accordance with the Local Rules of Harris County District Courts, all cases in the 189th Civil District Court shall be electronically filed. Below are proper instructions regarding Electronic Filing. -

E-FILING INSTRUCTIONS-

Type the entire title of your pleading.  Do not abbreviate parts of the title.  The clerks need the full and complete title of the pleading to insure proper filing.  Do not split your documents in different envelopes.  Clearly label all exhibits.  Do not attach proposed orders as exhibits.

Example:    

          Lead Document – Motion

          Sub Document- Exhibit 1/A

          Sub Document- Exhibit 2/B

          Sub Document- Proposed Order

          Sub Document- Filing Letter

Motions: ALL Motions and Responses filed with the Court must have a Proposed Order filed with the Court before the hearing or the hearing will automatically be passed. 

All motions and responses should include a proposed order.  All Motions require a Certificate of Conference, with the following exceptions: Motion for Default Judgment, Motion for Summary Judgment and Motion to Dismiss.

Discovery Motions:

The Court believes the parties can resolve most discovery disputes without Court intervention. 

Discovery Motions should specify each specific discovery response at issue and include a copy of the response(s) at issue as sub-documents when e-filing, or state verbatim the request and answer in the body of your motion. 

Proposed Orders should list each discovery issue separately so that the Court may sign a specific order granting or denying the requested relief. If Court intervention is necessary, please note that the Court will order attorney fees if at the hearing the Court finds that court intervention was not necessary, and the rules of civil procedure were not adhered to by either party.

Certificate of Conference-

The Certificate of Conference should include a detailed statement of the movant’s efforts to resolve the issues in the motion with opposing counsel/party prior to filing the motion.  If a party was unable to reach the other side prior to filing the motion, the certificate should state the efforts to communicate with that party. A statement along the lines of, “Counsel faxed, emailed, or mailed a letter to opposing counsel and they did not respond,\" is NOT sufficient to meet the requirement to confer.  Further, a Supplemental Certificate of Conference should be filed notating further efforts to resolve the discovery disputes at least 3 days before the submission/hearing date for the motion.  If parties have not filed the supplemental certificate of conference, the hearing will be passed on the Court’s docket. Parties with discovery motions pending on the oral hearing docket should arrive at least 15 minutes before their scheduled hearing to confer again with the other side prior to your case being called to the bench.

Motion for Substituted Service:

Motions for Substituted Service will not be granted without an affidavit verifying that at least 5 attempts of personal service have been made. The Court has an order template located in the document library as reference when formatting the Proposed Order for Substituted Service and submitting to the Court for review and ruling.

Please see the approved format template for Substituted Service requests:

Order Granting Rule 106 Substitute Service.docx

Temporary Injunctions:

All cases must be mediated prior to the Court holding a Temporary Injunction hearing. Parties are able to reference from the below list when selecting a mediator. If the case is not mediated prior to the Temporary Injunction hearing, the hearing will automatically be passed. 

Webpage Mediator List.xlsx

Trials:

The Court requires that all cases be mediated prior to trial (bench or jury).

All trials are conducted in person. Zoom appearances via parties require a motion, proposed order, and court approval. 

Trial Ready:

Counsel shall announce Trial Ready on the Thursday prior the trial setting. You may file a Notice of Trial Ready with the court, or you may notify the trial coordinator, Danielle Gutierrez, via email at danielle_gutierrez@justex.net. 

All case matters beginning with years 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 will remain on the two-week trial rolling docket until the case is assigned and tried before the Honorable Judge Tamika Craft-Demming.

Bench Trial:

Counsel shall file a Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and a Final Judgment with the Court prior to trial. Please email the Court Coordinator a copy of The Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law and a Proposed Final Judgment in Word format prior to trial.

Preferential Setting:

Counsel must file a Motion and Proposed Order. The motion must notate the reason for need of the preferential setting. There must be a signed order in the case file for a case to be observed as a preferential setting case. 

Trial Continuance:

A Motion for Continuance must be filed in order for the Court to consider a trial to be continued. Motions that notate \"Agreed\" must contain signatures of all counsels. The Court will consider a first motion for continuance, a second motion for continuance must have a thorough reason, and a third motion for continuance must have a dire necessity reason notated. The Court will not be so inclined to grant a third, fourth, or fifth motion for continuance.

A Proposed Order must be filed with all Motions for Continuances.

A Docket Control Order must be filed as an order, not as an exhibit. If a Docket Control Order is filed as an exhibit, the coordinator or clerk will reach out to counsel to notify of a need to refile the Docket Control Order as an order. 

Interpreter:

It is the responsibility of the attorney to provide and bring a CERTIFIED TRANSLATOR to trial with them if needed, it is NOT the Court’s responsibility. 

Court Reporter Transcript:

Please provide the Court Reporter with a USB of all hardcopy exhibits being provided for jury use.  If a daily transcript of trial proceedings will be necessary, please notify the Court Reporter, Amanda King, with a month's advance notice. You may contact her at 832-927-2329 or email her at Amanda_King@justex.net. 

Trial Technical Accommodations:

PRIOR TO THE START OF TRIAL, Counsel and/or counsel's Tech team MUST visit the Courtroom to test out the equipment. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL NOT DELAY THE TRIAL PROCEEDING AND COULD BE DETRIMENTAL TO THE PARTIES WHO HAVE FAILED TO COMPLY. It is not the Court's responsibility to walk you through the process of setting your technology up.  For detailed instructions on the use of the audio-visual equipment, please visit the following web link: Technology in Courtroom - 189th.pdf (justex.net)

Prior to appearance for technical testing, please contact the Court Coordinator to confer and agree on a day and time. 

Pretrial:

All Pretrial Matters MUST be heard prior to jury selection.  All Trial matters are in-person ONLY, no Zoom appearance unless approved by the Court prior to the date of pre-trial.

If the parties believe more than an hour is needed for the pre-trial conference, contact the trial coordinator so additional time can be scheduled. 

Counsel must provide the Court with a hardcopy trial binder. 

Exchange: Motions in Limine, Witness Lists, Exhibit Lists, Deposition Excerpts, and any Objections thereto at least one day prior to the pretrial hearing. Discuss the matters among yourselves and attempt agreements.  Advanced rulings on deposition excerpts are available by request, depending on the case.  Captioning should be included on deposition videos used at trial. 

Motion in Limine:

The Court has adopted a standing Order in Limine applicable to all cases.  Do not duplicate these items in your Motions in Limine.  Your motion should be limited to only those items specific to the facts and circumstances in your case. The Court's standing Order in Limine can be found under the forms section.

Trial Preparation Order:

The Court has adopted a standing Trial Preparation Order applicable to all cases. The Court's standing Trial Preparation Order can be found under the forms section.


Trial Notebooks:

All parties must prepare, exchange, and bring to the pretrial conference, a Trial Notebook that contains:
           
            * Motion in Limine and Order
            * Exhibit List
            * Witness List
            * Proposed Order on ALL Objections

All parties are to submit a Proposed Jury Charge/Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Proposed Final Judgment to the Court via email in Word Format or on a thumb drive. You may submit the Proposed Jury Charge/Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law and Proposed Final Judgment to the trial coordinator, Danielle Gutierrez, at danielle_gutierrez@justex.net.

Daubert/Robinson:

A hearing should be requested pursuant to the DCO deadlines. All motions to exclude experts should be filed and heard 30 days prior to trial.  The Court will NOT consider such motions filed after the deadline in the docket control order without a motion for leave demonstrating exceptionally good cause.  Do not wait until the eve of or morning of trial to file your motion.

Hearings: Please contact the court clerks to schedule any hearings, oral and submission dockets. 

Submission Docket:

Submission dockets are held on Monday's at 8 AM, following the T.R.C.P guidelines.

ALL Motions for Summary Judgment will be heard by submission ONLY, following the 21-day guideline, per the T.R.C.P. 

Law Day Docket: ALL Motions and Responses filed with the Court must have a Proposed Order filed with the Court before the hearing or the hearing will automatically be passed.

Law Day dockets are held on Tuesday's, beginning at 9 AM. Please contact the clerks of the Court via email for dates and times. 

Full Zoom mode must be in effect for attorneys appearing before the court. 

Any and All notices filed with the Court setting a matter without the Court's prior given date and time of the notated setting will automatically be passed and notated in the case file. 

Emergencies/Expedited:

If both sides agree to an emergency/expedited hearing, email the court clerk and request a phone conference with the judge. If only one side feels it is an emergency, e-file a motion for emergency/expedited hearing.

Special Exceptions:

Attach a copy of the pleading you are excepting to as an exhibit (unless the exception is only to the amount of damages sought) or state verbatim which paragraphs you except to. Proposed orders should list each exception separately.

Severances:

The proposed Order of Severance should include the following:

  1. How the severed case is to be styled.
  2. The new cause number- (A) (B) (C)
  3. The parties to be included in the severed case.
  4. All the pleadings that are to be severed into the new file, which include document title, document filed date, and image number.
  5. Whether the Order disposes of the severed case, or whether it will remain an active case; and
  6. Who will pay for the costs of severance.

DWOP Docket:

A Motion to Retain and Proposed Order must be filed to retain the set case for dismissal on the Court's docket. There is no need to appear for the DWOP setting, the case will automatically be DWOP'd if a Motion to Retain is not filed. 


Minor Settlement Hearings:

Regarding Minor Settlement Hearings, a Final Order and the Attorney Ad Litem's Fee Report must be filed three days in advance of the hearing.

Structured Settlement:

The Court requires the party to seek evaluator services. A Final Order must be filed three days in advance of the hearing.

Motion for Default Judgment:

A Motion for Default Judgment regarding Liquidated Damages is to be set on the Court's Submission docket. A Motion for Default Judgment regarding Unliquidated Damages is to be set on the Court's Law Day docket. To set these matters, please call or email the clerks of the Court for hearing dates.  

Settlements:

Upon announcing settlement, a notification of settlement must be filed with the Court to remove the case from the active trial docket. Cases are set on the Dismiss for Want of Prosecution docket upon filing of Notice of Settlement. Counsel has sixty days to file an Agreed Judgment or Final Non-Suit with the Court. If the case is DWOP'd due to failure to file judgment/non-suit, counsel will have to file a motion to reinstate the case and set the reinstatement formally before the Court for ruling. If a judgment/non-suit has not been filed at the time of DWOP and counsel would like to maintain the case on the docket, a Motion to Retain must be filed with the Court. A Proposed Order must be filed in order for a Motion to Retain to be granted and avoidance of DWOP.

Rulings: 

Please utilize the Harris County District Clerk's website (https://www.hcdistrictclerk.com) prior to contacting the Court for a ruling on a specific matter. If an order is not available in the case file, be sure that an order granting and denying the matter at hand was submitted for consideration by the Court. You may also check the docket sheet entries of the case file if an order has not been signed or provided to the Court. When following up on a ruling, please email the Court Clerks and cc the Court Coordinator. 






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