judge console · N.D. Tex.
N.D. Tex. · Judge Pittman · Practice Guide

Hon. Mark T. Pittman

All local rules for N.D. Tex., integrated with this judge's published requirements.

Before You File
Contacting chambers
👤 Judge Pittman — standing order

All ECF questions should be directed to the Fort Worth ECF Help Desk at 817-850-6733 or to the Dallas ECF Help Desk at 214-753-2633. All case-inquiry phone calls are referred to Judge Pittman's courtroom deputy at 817-850-6656. Telephone calls directly to the Court's law clerks are not permitted.

Drafting the Motion
Length limits — motion, opposition, reply
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule
Motion

Unless another local civil rule provides otherwise, a brief must not exceed 25 pages (excluding the table of contents and table of authorities). A reply brief must not exceed 10 pages. Permission to file a brief in excess of these page limitations will be granted by the presiding judge only for extraordinary and compelling reasons. N.D. Tex. LR 7.2(c) ↗

Opposition

Unless another local civil rule provides otherwise, a brief must not exceed 25 pages (excluding the table of contents and table of authorities). Responses to motions follow the standard brief length — 25 pages maximum. N.D. Tex. LR 7.2(c) ↗

Reply

A reply brief must not exceed 10 pages. N.D. Tex. LR 7.2(c) ↗

Filing & Scheduling
Briefing schedule & hearing date
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule
Notice period

A response and brief to an opposed motion must be filed within 21 days from the date the motion is filed. Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge, a party who has filed an opposed motion may file a reply brief within 14 days from the date the response is filed. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(e)–(f) ↗

Hearing days

Submission model — no motion day scheduled. Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge, oral argument on a motion will not be held. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(g) ↗

Proposed orders
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule

Except for an opposed motion that is submitted on paper, each motion must be accompanied by a proposed order that is set forth separately. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(c) ↗

👤 Judge Pittman — standing order

All motions require a proposed order in Microsoft Word format (not PDF) and must be emailed to Pittman_Orders@txnd.uscourts.gov, with the case number and the document number of the referenced motion in the subject line (e.g., 4-23-cv-001, ECF No. 1).

The Hearing
Oral argument
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule

Unless otherwise directed by the presiding judge, oral argument on a motion will not be held. N.D. Tex. LR 7.1(g) ↗

👤 Judge Pittman — standing order
Default practice

Hearings on motions are set by the Court only when the Court determines that a hearing is necessary. Parties must submit in the motion, the response, and the reply all information necessary for a ruling.

Continuances & calendar conflicts
👤 Judge Pittman — standing order

See LR 40.1; absent exceptional circumstances, continuances in civil cases are not granted since the trial month is agreed to by counsel for the parties and the Court at the trial-setting conference.

Discovery
Discovery referral procedure
🏛 N.D. Tex. local rule

Discovery disputes referred to assigned magistrate judge per FRCP 72 and 28 U.S.C. § 636. Objections to nondispositive magistrate orders must be accompanied by a brief complying with LR 7.2; response brief due within 21 days from the date objections are filed. N.D. Tex. LR 72.1–72.2 ↗

Know Before You Go
👤 Judge Pittman — deviations that burn people
  • All motions require a proposed order in Microsoft Word format (not PDF) and must be emailed to Pittman_Orders@txnd.uscourts.gov, with the case number and the document number of the referenced motion in the subject line (e.g., 4-23-cv-001, ECF No. 1).
  • Any motion, response, or reply must be formatted as follows: Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced text, single-spaced and bolded headings, one-inch margins on all sides, justified, centered page numbers, and single-spaced footnotes. Citations should be in text (not in footnotes), include italicized case names (not underlined) and statutes in small caps, and otherwise comply with the most recent edition of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation.
content assembled from published local rules & standing orders · click any section in the rail for the full treatment