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Gregg County's civil local rules for trial settings and docket management: where civil petitions are filed; Litigation Control Orders issued by the clerk after the first answer in Level 1 and Level 2 discovery cases (setting the pre-trial conference, trial and the deadlines for joinder, expert designations, discovery, mediation, dispositive motions and amended pleadings), amendable by written agreement except the conference and trial dates, which move only on motion for good cause filed at least 14 days before trial; Level 3 cases get a Management Conference and a tailored order; pre-trial motions including motions in limine due 3 business days before the pre-trial conference; the exchange of witness, expert and exhibit lists and proposed charges before the conference, at which the court rules on all pre-trial motions; bankruptcy stays; the exclusions; and the sample Litigation Control Order attached to the rules.
Texas > Tenth Administrative Judicial Region > Gregg County > the district and statutory county courts (adopted by the judges of the 124th, 188th and 307th District Courts and County Court at Law No. 1). Civil cases on file with the District Clerk of Gregg County; by Rule 17 the rules do not apply to tax suits, asset seizures, bond forfeitures or family law cases in the 307th District Court.
CIVIL CASES FILED WITH DISTRICT CLERK Rule: 1 All Petitions in civil cases shall be filed in the office of the District Clerk except for matters involving: 1. Probate and Guardianships; 2. Misdemeanor Bond Forfeiture 3. Petitions for Minor Driver License; and 4. Petitions for Occupational Drivers License unless the license suspension was a result of a District Court action. If the drivers license suspension was a result of a District Court action, the case shall be filed in the Office of the District Clerk, and the clerk shall assign such case to the District Court in which the suspension occurred. LEVEL 1 AND LEVEL 2 CASES: LITIGATION CONTROL ORDERS Rule: 2 In each case in which the Original Petition filed by the Plaintiff designates discovery to be controlled by Discovery Control Plan (Level 1) or (Level 2), pursuant to Tex.R.Civ.P., 190.2 or Tex.R.Civ.P., 190.3, the Court, without consultation with counsel or the parties, will enter a Litigation Control Order which sets forth an appropriate schedule to control the litigation of that case. The Litigation Control Order for a Level 1 or Level 2 case will provide a definitive schedule by which the litigation must be conducted. Specifically, the Litigation Control Order for a Level 1 or Level 2 case will set specific dates for the pre-trial conference and trial, as well as dates by which the following items must be completed: a. Joinder of Additional Parties; b. Plaintiff Designation of Expert Witnesses and Compliance with Tex.R.Civ.P. 194.2(f); c. Defendant Designation of Expert Witnesses and Compliance with Tex.R.Civ.P., 194.2(f); d. Discovery; e. Mediation; f. The Filing of Dispositive Motions or any Motions Challenging an Expert Witness; g. The Response to a Dispositive Motion or any Motions Challenging an Expert Witness; and h. Parties to Amend Pleadings; Rule: 3 The Litigation Control Order described in Rule: 2 will be issued by the Clerk of the Court, as soon as practicable after the first answer is filed by any Defendant in the case. The Clerk of the Court will file the Litigation Control Order and mail copies to all attorneys, and/or pro-se parties of record. The Litigation Control Order is designed to be self-explanatory. If additional parties are joined subsequent to the Clerk issuing the Litigation Control Order, it is the responsibility of the party joining the additional party to provide the additional party with the Litigation Control Order in effect at that time. Rule: 4 Unless otherwise specified in the Litigation Control Order, each case in which the Original Petition filed by the Plaintiff designates discovery to be controlled by Discovery Control Plan (Level 1) pursuant to Tex.R.Civ.P., 190.2, the amount of discovery to be conducted in the case is controlled by Tex.R.Civ.P., 190.2(c)(2),(3). Rule: 5 Unless otherwise specified in the Litigation Control Order, each case in which the Original Petition filed by the Plaintiff designates discovery to be controlled by Discovery Control Plan (Level 2) pursuant to Tex.R.Civ.P., 190.3, the amount of discovery to be conducted in the case is controlled by Tex.R.Civ.P., 190.3(b)(2),(3). Rule: 6 With the exception of the dates for the pre-trial conference and the trial, the parties may amend the Litigation Control Order by agreement. Any agreement to amend the Litigation Control Order must be in writing, signed and filed with the papers as part of the record, or unless it be made in open court and entered of record in accordance with Tex.R.Civ.P., 11. Rule: 7 The pre-trial conference date and/or the trial date set forth in the Litigation Control Order may only be changed or amended (continued or expedited) by a party on motion showing good cause for the change or amendment. The Court will entertain all motions to change or amend the pre-trial conference date or the trial date as set forth in the Litigation Control Order filed at least 14 days preceding the trial date set forth in the Litigation Control Order. It is within the Court's discretion to entertain motions to change or amend the pre-trial conference date or the trial date filed within 14 days of the trial date set forth in the Litigation Control Order. This rule is specifically designed to prevent agreed passes and agreed continuances of cases. Such agreements will not be entertained by the Court. Nothing in this rule prevents the Court from changing or amending (continuing or expediting) a trial date on its own motion. If the Court chooses to change or amend a trial date from that mandated by the Litigation Control Order, the Court will notify the parties in writing immediately. LEVEL 3 CASES: Rule: 8 In any case in which a party files a motion pursuant to Tex.R.Civ.P., 190.4(a), seeking that discovery be conducted in accordance with a discovery control plan tailored to the circumstances of that specific case, the Court will set a Management Conference. The Court will notify all parties of the date, time and location, of the Management Conference. All pro-se parties and counsel for parties are required to attend the Management Conference. Rule: 9 The purpose of the Management Conference is to create a Litigation Control Order tailored to the circumstances of that case. At the Management Conference, the Court and the parties will discuss issues relevant to achieving that end. The parties should be prepared to discuss issues relevant to creating a Litigation Control Order tailored to the circumstances of that specific case. At the conclusion of the Management Conference the Court will enter a Litigation Control Order governing the case. Rule: 10 All Litigation Control Orders issued by the Court as a result of a motion filed and a Management Conference held, must contain the following: a. A trial date; b. A pre-trial conference date; c. A discovery deadline, (The Court may either designate a date by which all discovery must be concluded or a date by which all discovery requests must be sent); d. Appropriate limits on the amount of discovery; and e. Deadline for joining additional parties; f. Deadline for amending or supplementing pleadings; g. Deadline for Plaintiff to designate expert witnesses; and h. Deadline for Defendant to designate expert witnesses. Nothing in this rule shall prevent the Court from including additional items in the Litigation Control Order. To the contrary, the Court may include all items the Court deems necessary to create a Litigation Control Order tailored to the circumstances of that particular case. The parties are urged to confer prior to a Management Conference and attempt to create an Agreed Litigation Control Order that is tailored to the circumstances of that case. If an Agreed Litigation Control Order is created by the parties, it may be presented to the Court at the Management Conference or prior thereto, for the Court's consideration. Creating and presenting an Agreed Litigation Control Order to the Court prior to the Management Conference does not relieve the parties from their obligation to attend the Management Conference. However, if an Agreed Litigation Control Order is presented to the Court prior to the Management Conference, the Court will consider a request by the parties to cancel the Management Conference. Rule: 11 With the exception of the dates for the pre-trial conference and the trial, the parties may amend the Litigation Control Order by agreement. Any agreement to amend the Litigation Control Order must be in writing, signed and filed with the papers as part of the record, or unless it be made in open court and entered of record in accordance with Tex.R.Civ.P., 11. Rule: 12 The pre-trial conference date and/or the trial date set forth in the Litigation Control Order may only be changed or amended (continued or expedited) by a party on motion showing good cause for the change or amendment. The Court will entertain all motions to change or amend the pre-trial conference date or the trial date as set forth in the Litigation Control Order filed at least 14 days preceding the trial date set forth in the Litigation Control Order. It is within the Court's discretion to entertain motions to change or amend the pre-trial conference date or the trial date filed within 14 days of the trial date set forth in the Litigation Control Order. This rule is specifically designed to prevent agreed passes and agreed continuances of cases. Such agreements will not be entertained by the Court. Nothing in this rule prevents the Court from changing or amending (continuing or expediting) a trial date on its own motion. If the Court chooses to change or amend a trial date from that mandated by the Litigation Control Order, the Court will notify the parties in writing immediately. PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS Rule: 13 Unless otherwise set forth in these rules or in a Litigation Control Order, all pre-trial motions, including, but not limited to, Motions In Limine, must be filed with the Clerk of the Court no later than 3 business days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference. A party must obtain leave of Court to file any pre-trial motions later than 3 business days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference. PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE Rule: 14 At least three (3) business days prior to the Pre-Trial Conference each party is required to provide every other party in the case the following documents: a. List of Witnesses the party intends to call in their case in chief; b. List of Expert Witnesses the party intends to call in their case in chief; c. List of Exhibits the party intends to offer in evidence in their case in chief; d. The party's proposed jury charge or proposed jury instruction and jury questions; and e. All pre-trial motions, including motions in limine. After having received the above documents, the parties are required to confer regarding any objections there may be to a party's witnesses, expert witnesses, exhibits, and pre-trial motions. The parties are urged to attempt to resolve as many objections to the above listed items as possible prior to the Pre-Trial Conference. Rule: 15 Each party, individually, or by and through the party's attorney of record, is required to attend the Pre-Trial Conference. At the Pre-Trial Conference, each party is required to deliver to the Court, the following documents: a. List of Witnesses the party intends to call in their case in chief; b. List of Expert Witnesses the party intends to call in their case in chief; c. List of Exhibits which the party intends to offer in their case in chief; and d. The party's proposed jury charge or proposed jury instruction and jury questions. At the Pre-Trial Conference, the Court will discuss, and potentially make preliminary rulings on objections raised as to witnesses, expert witnesses, and exhibits. THE COURT WILL MAKE RULINGS ON ALL PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS, INCLUDING MOTIONS IN LIMINE AT THE PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE. The parties should also be prepared to discuss: a. The number of days the trial is expected to take to try; b. Issues of law and/or fact which are in dispute; c. Any cross-claims, counter-claims, or third-party claims which are pending; d. Any other matters the Court deems necessary to discuss prior to trial. BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS Rule: 16 If proceedings are stayed by bankruptcy, it is the responsibility of the Plaintiff to schedule a management conference with the Court in which the case is pending once the stay has been lifted. TAX SUITS, ASSET SEIZURES AND BOND FORFEITURES Rule: 17 These local rules do not apply to tax suits, asset seizures, bond forfeiture cases, or family law cases filed in the 307th District Court. Pursuant to Rule 3(a) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, Article 200a-1, Sec. 5.003, VATS, and Rule 10 of the Rules of Judicial Administration, the district and statutory county court judges of Gregg County, Texas, hereby adopt the hereto attached amendment to local rules of administration governing trial settings and docket management of cases on file in the Office of the District Clerk of Gregg County, Texas. Such rules were adopted by unanimous vote of the undersigned at a meeting called for such purpose on this 23rd day of September, 2002. These rules are effective January 1, 2003, subject to approval by the Texas Supreme Court. [signature] Alvin G. Khoury Judge of the 124th Judicial District of Texas Local Administrative Judge of Gregg County, Texas [signature] David S. Brabham Judge of the 188th Judicial District of Texas [signature] Robin D. Sage Judge of the 307th Judicial District of Texas [signature] Rebecca L. Simpson Judge of the County Court at Law Number One of Gregg County, Texas [Sample Litigation Control Order, Level 1 (pages 9-10; each page is headed SAMPLE)] Cause No. __________ JOHN PLAINTIFF VS. MARY DEFENDANT IN THE COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 2, GREGG COUNTY, TEXAS LITIGATION CONTROL ORDER This matter has been assigned to the Level 1 Schedule for purposes of discovery. Unless otherwise directed below, this matter will be governed in accordance with Rule 190.2 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties may in accordance with Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure change any of the deadline dates set out below with the exception of the trial date which will only be changed upon Motion and for good cause shown. Should the parties desire a trial date sooner than the date assigned below, the parties may request such earlier date by a written request. The Court enters the following Discovery Control Plan: 1. *(210 days) Joinder of additional parties. 2. (120 days) Plaintiff shall designate expert witnesses and comply with Rule 194.2 (f) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. 3. (90 days) Defendant shall designate expert witnesses and comply with Rule 194.2 (f) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. 4. (60 days) Deadline to file dispositive motions and/or to file any motion challenging an expert witness. Responses due not later than 7 days prior to the date of the hearing. 5. (45 days) Mediation deadline. While mediation is encouraged, this is not an order to mediate. 6. (30 days) Discovery deadline. 7. (20 days) Amended Pleadings. 8. (10 days) Responses to Amended Pleadings. 9. (date) Pre-trial conference to begin at 3:00 p.m. * Failure to attend the Pre-Trial conference may result in sanctions pursuant to Rule 215 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the absent party shall be bound by the orders and rulings entered by the court. 12. (10 months from date of defendant's answer) Jury selection to begin at 9:00 a.m. SIGNED AND ORDERED this date: __________. PRESIDING JUDGE * All days are days from the trial date. [Sample Litigation Control Order, Level 2 (pages 11-12; each page is headed SAMPLE)] Cause No. __________ JOHN PLAINTIFF VS. MARY DEFENDANT IN THE COUNTY COURT AT LAW NO. 2, GREGG COUNTY, TEXAS LITIGATION CONTROL ORDER This matter has been assigned to the Level 2 Schedule for purposes of discovery. Unless otherwise directed below, this matter will be governed in accordance with Rule 190.3 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. The parties may in accordance with Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure change any of the deadline dates set out below with the exception of the trial date which will only be changed upon Motion and for good cause shown. Should the parties desire a trial date sooner than the date assigned below, the parties may request such earlier date by a written request. The Court enters the following Discovery Control Plan: 1. *(330 days) Joinder of additional parties. 2. (120 days) Plaintiff shall designate expert witnesses and comply with Rule 194.2 (f) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. 3. (90 days) Defendant shall designate expert witnesses and comply with Rule 194.2 (f) of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. 4. (60 days) Deadline to file dispositive motions and/or to file any motion challenging an expert witness. Responses due 15 days after service on opposing party. 5. (45 days) Mediation deadline. While mediation is encouraged, this is not an order to mediate. 6. (30 days) Discovery deadline. 7. (20 days) Amended Pleadings. 8. (10 days) Responses to Amended Pleadings. 9. (date) Pre-trial conference to begin at 3:00 p.m. * Failure to attend the Pre-Trial conference may result in sanctions pursuant to Rule 215 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the absent party shall be bound by the orders and rulings entered by the court. 12. (14 months from date of defendant' answer) Jury selection to begin at 9:00 a.m. SIGNED AND ORDERED this date: __________. PRESIDING JUDGE *All days are days from trial.
CIVIL CASES FILED WITH DISTRICT CLERK Rule: 1 All Petitions in civil cases shall be filed in the office of the District Clerk except for matters involving: 1. Probate and Guardianships; 2. Misdemeanor Bond Forfeiture 3. Petitions for Minor Driver License; and 4. Petitions for Occupational Drivers License unless the license suspension was a result of a District Court action. If the drivers license
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-19 (AJR-10 Tenth Region build) from BenchPath custody sources/registered/852.pdf (application/pdf, 408445 bytes, sha256 e194ab9ea783e96f1cfb37c8204dd0ec953677bc3e3fd74559d40a7fd118d4de; 12 pages) - the TOPICs-registered document: digital text layer normalised (whitespace, hyphenation, page furniture) and every page checked against the rendered PDF; signature and file-stamp blocks bracketed. Scanned print with a digital text layer (checked page by page); the last pages are the sample Litigation Control Order the rules attach, kept in the text as the attached sample. CORRECTION 2026-09-20: the text published 2026-09-19 was taken from the PDF's embedded text layer, which is a machine OCR layer over a scan; it carried recognition errors (the signature block, 'senings', the '10 months' entry of the sample order). All twelve pages were re-read against the rendered scan and the text retyped, including both sample Litigation Control Orders. Also posted on the county's own website: https://greggcounty.texas.gov/assets/main/departments/district-clerk/civil-rules.pdf (513,551 bytes, sha256 47aff015269d2441...; the digital text of the same rules and sample orders, without the adoption page signed September 23, 2002, on the District Clerk and County Court at Law No. 2 pages - read 2026-09-20).