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Bankr. W.D. Tex. L. Rule 7016-1 — Pretrial Procedures; Formulating Issues: the court's own rule, verbatim from Local Court Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas (These Rules are effective as of February 3, 2025.), official PDF, sha-custodied. Court-level requirement: applies in every case before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas alongside the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure and any judge-specific procedures.
(a) Scheduling Order. After the filing of an answer or upon motion of a party, the Court shall issue its scheduling order, which will set forth deadlines, hearing dates, and limitations on discovery. Unopposed discovery may continue after the deadline for discovery contained in the scheduling order, provided that discovery does not delay other pretrial preparations or the trial setting. (b) Pretrial Conferences. A pretrial conference will not be held, unless otherwise provided in the scheduling order. A pretrial conference may be scheduled upon written motion or upon the Court's own motion. (c) Joint Pretrial Order. A joint pretrial order shall be filed at least 7 days before trial docket call, unless otherwise directed by the Court. Counsel shall exchange proposed Pretrial Orders 14 days before docket call, except to the extent counsel agree otherwise. If counsel cannot agree on a joint pretrial order, counsel shall file separate proposed Pretrial Orders on or before the deadline. The Pretrial Order shall contain the following: (1) a concise description of the dispute; (2) a statement as to jurisdiction, including whether the matter is core or non-core; (3) a statement as to whether the parties consent to the entry of a final order or judgment by the Bankruptcy Court; (4) a summary of the claims and defenses of each party; (5) a statement of stipulated facts; (6) a summary of the disputed factual issues; (7) a summary of the agreed applicable law; (8) a list of contested issues of law. This list shall include specific reference to applicable bankruptcy code provisions, state, or federal statutes and/or regulations, applicable rules of procedure and conflict questions, if any. (Copies of regulations must be attached); (9) a list of witnesses who may be called, accompanied by a concise statement of their proposed testimony. If a witness’s testimony will be presented by a deposition, the Pretrial Order must designate by reference to page and line of the testimony to be offered (except those to be used for impeachment only), and if not taken stenographically, a transcript of the pertinent portions of the deposition testimony; (10) an estimate of the length of trial. If counsel's estimate of trial time is 5 hours or more, a pretrial conference must be requested. It will be the parties’ burden to file a written request for the pretrial conference in such instance, within 30 days after the date of the initial scheduling order; (11) a list of any additional matters that might aid in the disposition of the case; (12) a list and description of each exhibit upon which the parties intend to rely upon at trial of their case in chief; and (13) a signature of an attorney for each party. (d) Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law. Proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law shall be filed by each party at least 7 days before trial docket call and emailed to the Courtroom Deputy in word processing format. (e) Conflict between Scheduling Order and Local Rule. In any conflict between a scheduling order and these Local Bankruptcy Rules, the scheduling order controls. If the Pretrial Order is not timely filed, a default judgment may be rendered or the proceeding may be dismissed for want of prosecution. (f) Briefs. Any briefs to be considered by the Court at the trial on the merits of an adversary complaint shall be filed contemporaneously with the pretrial order, but as a separate document with service on all counsel and parties without counsel, unless otherwise provided in the scheduling order or other order of the Court. Unless the Court orders otherwise, trial briefs shall be limited to 25 pages, cumulative of all such trial briefs submitted by a party. These page limits are exclusive of the caption, signature block, any certificate, and accompanying documents. (g) Exhibits and Number of Copies Required. (1) All exhibits shall be appropriately marked and either be provided in an electronic format or be bound in booklet form which will lie flat when opened. Exhibits shall be separately tabbed and identified in numerical order, and shall be indexed at the front of each exhibit book or books. Unless the Court orders otherwise, counsel may file trial exhibits in the ECF docket for the case being tried. Counsel is responsible for notifying all opposing counsel of the filing of electronic exhibits and counsel’s intention to use the exhibits at trial in lieu of serving paper copies on opposing counsel. The filing of electronic exhibits does not excuse a party from providing the appropriate number of paper copies per each judge’s internal policies. Parties are instructed to consult with each judge’s chambers for any specific guidance on the use of electronic or paper exhibits. (2) Tabbed and marked copies of exhibits shall be provided to each party not less than 5 days before trial. (3) In addition to exhibits exchanged with opposing counsel, and notwithstanding any agreement between counsel to exchange exhibits electronically, a complete set of exhibits shall be provided for the Court, the Law Clerk, the Courtroom Deputy, and the witness stand. (4) Failure to comply with these rules may result in the refusal of the Court to admit exhibits into evidence, or in sanctions. (h) Requests for jury trials are governed by L. Rule 9015-1.
(a) Scheduling Order. After the filing of an answer or upon motion of a party, the Court shall issue its scheduling order, which will set forth deadlines, hearing dates, and limitations on discovery. Unopposed discovery may continue after the deadline for discovery contained in t