PROCEDURES OF THE 10th DISTRICT COURT

All cases filed in the 10th District Court of Galveston County, Texas are controlled by Case Management Orders.

All civil cases are automatically assigned for Status Conference at the time of filing. At the first Status Conference setting, the parties shall appear and a Docket Control Order will be entered by the Court and will include the  assignment of a Pre-Trial Conference (See Docket Control Order form).

A Trial Date will be assigned at the Pre-Trial Conference; however, no trial  setting will be assigned until after mediation has been completed unless all parties waive mediation prior to the Pre-Trial Conference.

All Trial settings shall be for a two-week trial period and the case assigned for trial at any time during the two-week period.

When the parties appear for trial, they are requested to bring and present to the Court their proposed jury instructions and special issues prior to jury selection.

Any pleading that requires a setting with the court must be on file with the District Clerks Office.

It has been this courts practice that many of the pleadings filed are set for "Submission" in which the Judge rules on, as a matter of law according to the Texas Code of Civil Procedures, without the necessity of an oral hearing.

Submission Procedures:
        If a setting is requested on a motion that is set by Submission, it must be filed with the District Clerks Office along with a "Request for Submission". The District Clerks Office will tag the motion and the request and send the pleadings up to court. The Court will the set the motion on the submission docket and notify the requesting party of the setting by telephone and send written correspondence by fax. At this point, requesting party must file a "Notice of Submission" to all parties of the setting. If there is not a "Notice of Submission" on file, the motion will not be reviewed or ruled on by the Court.

Note: If a pleading has been reviewed by Submission and the Judge feels there are matters that need to be addressed orally, the Court will set it for an Oral hearing and notify the requesting party. The requesting party will then file a "Notice of Hearing" to all parties.

The most common pleadings filed are:

Motions for Summary Judgment (MSJ):

   Motion for Summary Judgments are set by submission 30 days out from the date they are received by the Court from the District Clerks Office. (Please follow Submission Procedures if setting is desired.)

Motion for Continuance, Motion for Default Judgment, Motion on Special Exceptions, Motion to Consolidate or Sever, Motion to Abate, Motion to Withdraw as Counsel ( if there is not a party substituting in):

     Above motions are set by submission usually 10 days out, depending on availability of the Court. (Please following Submission Procedures if setting is desired.)

     However, there are certain motions such as Motion to Compel, Motion to Transfer Venue and Plea to Jurisdiction that the necessity of an oral hearing is required. In that instance, a "Request for Oral Hearing" must be filed with the motion. The District Clerks Office will tag the motion and request and send the pleadings up to court. The Court will contact the requesting party and set the pleading for an oral hearing. At that point, requesting party must file a "Notice of Hearing" to all parties.

     If at any time a party desires a setting on a pleading that was previously filed and setting not requested at time of filing, please file appropriate Request (Submission or Oral Hearing) and reference filemark date of pleading in request.

Note: If in doubt of how a motion not listed is set, please contact the Court Coordinator, Dana Winston, at 409-766-2230.