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Next Back to Employee Rights Resources Back to TLSC Home PageDisclaimer: These materials give specific information about the procedures that a litigant must follow in a suit in the San Antonio Division of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. Different requirements may apply under the Local Rules and standing orders of other federal courts outside the Western District of Texas. Also, the information presented in these pages is for educational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is different, and the correct legal answer always depends on the facts of the individual case. If you want a legal opinion about your own case, you should seek help from a licensed attorney.
A scheduling order is the court's official timeline for your lawsuit. The order sets the basic deadlines that will apply to your case. (There may be additional deadlines not listed in the order.) Because you started the lawsuit, it is your duty to file a proposed scheduling order within 30 days after the defendant files an answer or special appearance in the case. If you do not file a proposed scheduling order, the judge can issue an order without your input. Scheduling orders are described in Rule 16(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (abbreviated Fed. R. Civ. P. ) and Rule CV-16 of the Local Rules for the Western District of Texas.
Appendix B-1 of the Local Rules contains a form for the scheduling order. Your proposed order must include everything found in the form. If you don't understand words in the form, look them up in the Glossary (below). You can also look in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules for more detailed information.
The Local Rules require the parties to try to agree on a proposed schedule. Judges like it when the parties work together and file a joint order. If you cannot agree with the defendant's attorney, though, you may want to file a proposed scheduling order with the dates you think are best. In this situation, a scheduling order should include a statement explaining the disagreement.
Your proposed deadlines will depend on how complex your case is. If the case is simple and both sides already know almost everything about the facts, the lawsuit can proceed relatively quickly. If the case is complex or the parties need a lot of time to investigate the facts, it will take longer. Here are some general guidelines:
NOTE: The fact that the order sets a deadline for something doesn't always mean you have to do that thing. Instead, the deadline means that if you want to do that thing, you have to do it before the deadline passes. Sometimes, of course, you will want to do the things mentioned in the scheduling order because the failure to do them could hurt your case. For example, if you miss the deadline for designating expert witnesses such as your doctor, you will have to go to trial without their testimony. On the other hand, you probably won't ever need to file a motion in intervention.
It's a good idea to have a special calendar set aside to keep track of what's going on in your lawsuit. Go through the scheduling order and mark every deadline on the calendar.
If you can see right away that you'll have trouble meeting the deadlines, you can file a motion with the court to try to get the scheduling order changed. (For specific information about filing motions, see Basic Motions in the San Antonio Division. ) If you only need to change one or two dates, you can file a "Motion to Extend Deadline" telling the court why you need the deadline(s) changed and what dates you want for the new deadline(s). The rules require you to attach a proposed order changing the deadline. If you want to make big changes in the timing of the suit, you can file a "Motion Requesting Entry of Alternative Scheduling Order" with a draft of your proposed new order. Either way, you must talk to the defendant's attorney to see if the defendant will agree to your proposed change(s) and sign the proposed order. If the parties cannot agree on a new schedule, the judge probably will not grant your motion unless you include a good explanation of why you need the changes you are requesting.
Filing documents: There are several ways to meet a filing deadline in the San Antonio Division. The safest way is to file the document by taking the original and at least one copy to the district clerk's office on or before the day of the deadline. Alternately, you can put the document (with at least one copy) in the night drop box outside the federal court house on or before the day of the deadline, even after business hours are over. (NOTE: Before you use the night drop box for the first time, check with the clerk's office to make sure you know how the drop box works, the hours you can put documents there, and what you must include with your documents to make sure they get filed on time.) Third, you can mail the document (with at least one copy) to the clerk's office by certified mail, return receipt requested, postmarked on or before the date of the deadline. If you mail the letter at a post office, you can get a clerk to postmark your certified mail receipt for your records.
Serving documents: When you must serve a document on the defendant by a certain deadline, you can do so either by hand- delivering the document to the defendant's attorney on or before that date, or by sending it to the defendant's attorney by certified mail, return receipt requested, postmarked on or before the date of the deadline. See Local Rule CV-5, CV-7(g).
Calculating the deadline: When you are trying to calculate a deadline that isn't
set in the scheduling order, you must follow special rules for counting the days toward
the deadline. Most deadlines happen a set number of days after a certain event, such as
the service of a document, the filing of a document, or the entry of an order by the
court. Start counting on the day after the day from which the deadline runs. Keep counting
until you have counted off the required number of days. The last day you count is the day
of the deadline, except in three situations. First, if the deadline runs from the date of
service, and a document was served by mail, add three days to the number of days that you
count to reach the deadline. Second, if the last day you count is a weekend day or legal
holiday, the deadline is the next day that isn't a weekend day or legal holiday (legal
holidays are listed in Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(a)). Third, if a time period is less than 11
days, you don't count weekends and legal holidays when you count the days. (NOTE: This
rule does not apply to the eleven-day deadline for responding to a motion in the San
Antonio Division. See Local Rule CV-7(f).) The following examples illustrate these rules:
- Basic rule:
- You receive "Defendant's Requests for Admission" on Wednesday, July 1, 1998 by hand-delivery. You must respond within 30 days after the day of service (here, hand-delivery). Day One is Thursday, July 2 (the day after you receive the Requests). Day Thirty is Friday, July 31. You must send your response on or before Friday, July 31.
- Mail rule:
- You receive "Defendant's Requests for Admission" on Wednesday, July 1, 1998 by mail, along with a certificate of service that says the documents were mailed to you on Monday, June 29. You must respond within 30 days after the date of service. June 29 is the date of service, since that's when the documents were mailed (see "Serving documents," above). Since you received the documents by mail, add three days to the period before the deadline. Day One is Tuesday, June 30. Day Thirty-three is Wednesday, July 29. You must send your response on or before July 29.
- Weekend/legal holiday:
- You receive "Defendant's First Set of Interrogatories" on Thursday, March 5, 1998 by hand-delivery. You must answer within 30 days after the day of service (here, hand-delivery). Day One is Wednesday, March 6. Day Thirty is Saturday, April 4. The next day that isn't a weekend or legal holiday is Monday, April 6. You must send your response on or before Monday, April 6.
- 11-day Rule:
- After a bench trial, the judge grants a judgment for you and finds that you should recover $10,000 in back pay. The judgment is entered on Thursday, February 12, 1998. The evidence at trial shows you should have gotten $20,000 in back pay. You have 10 days after entry of judgment to file a motion asking the court to amend its findings. Day One is Friday, February 13. When you exclude weekend days and legal holidays (Monday, February 16, is Presidents Day), Day Ten is Friday, February 27. You must file a motion to amend the judgment on or before February 27.
Take action as soon as possible. If you need more time to file something, or if you need more time to prepare before trial or a hearing or conference, first check with the defendant's attorney to see if the defendant will agree to an extension. If the defendant agrees, you can then file an "Agreed Motion to Extend Time," and the court will probably grant your request. Even if the other side will not agree, you can still file a "Motion to Extend Time" explaining to the court exactly why you need an extension. Try to file your motion to extend time several days before the deadline or hearing. Never wait till the day of the deadline or hearing has passed.
Accordance with - When something is done in accordance with a rule or law, all the requirements of the rule or law are followed.
Admissibility - Something is admissible if it is legitimate evidence that can be taken into account by a jury (or by the judge, if there is no jury) in deciding your case. The Federal Rules of Evidence (abbreviated Fed. R. Evid. ) explain what kind of evidence is admissible and what requirements must be met before evidence can be used at trial. See Fed. R. Evid. 401, 402.
Admission - Agreement that a fact is true.
Allegation - A legal claim.
Alternative dispute resolution - There are several procedures for settling your case without having the judge make a decision in favor of either side. These are called alternative dispute resolution or ADR since they are alternatives to proceeding in court. The most common kinds of ADR are (1) informal negotiations, (2) mediation (which is a negotiation between the parties that is refereed by a mediator who does not make a decision in the case), and (3) non-binding arbitration (which is a hearing at which an arbitrator listens to evidence and makes a tentative decision about who should win the case). See Local Rules CV-88, CV-87
Amendment - To amend a legal document is to file with the clerk of the court a new version of that document that adds something, leaves something out, or changes the language. The new version replaces the original document that you filed. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15.
Appear - Show up at the time scheduled for a hearing, trial, or deposition, or, in the case of a defendant, to file an answer or other document with the court in response to the plaintiff s complaint.
Authority to bind for a party - The authority to make decisions or commitments on behalf of someone.
Authority - A legal authority is a court opinion, law, or rule that the court should follow when it decides your case.
Bar number - The identifying number assigned to each attorney who is licensed to practice law.
Bench trial - A trial before the judge, with no jury. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 38, 39.
Class-action issues - A class action is usually a lawsuit brought by a few individual plaintiffs on behalf of a large group of people who are hurt by something done by the defendant(s). See Fed. R. Civ. P. 23.
Comply with - To comply with a rule or law means to follow that rule or law.
Conclusions of law - In a trial held by the judge without a jury, conclusions of law are the court's decisions about how the law applies to the facts of a case. Before a bench trial, you will file proposed conclusions of law to explain to the judge what legal conclusions you hope the judge will make in your case. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52.
Contemplated in - Talked about or taken into account.
Continuance - An order by the court that delays a hearing or trial.
Contradict - To tell the judge about evidence that tends to show something is not true.
Court reporter - The person who is responsible for making the official record of a trial or of a deposition.
Default - A judgment ending the case in favor of either side, based on that side's failure to respond on time or to show up at the trial, or based on misbehavior during the lawsuit. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 55 and 37(b)(2)(C).
Deposition - Depositions are part of the discovery process. The term usually refers to an oral deposition, which is a meeting at which the parties have the chance to freely question a witness under oath, while a court reporter makes a written record of what is said. Depositions usually take place without the judge's involvement, and the court only has to know about the deposition if there is some dispute between the parties. Oral depositions usually happen at an attorney's office or at a neutral location other than the courthouse. A written deposition is similar, except that the questions are written down in advance and sent to all of the parties to the lawsuit. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 30 (oral), 32 (how it can be used), 31 (written), 28 (who can record the deposition), 29 (agreements by parties); Local Rule CV-5(b), CV-30, CV-32.
Designation - When you make a designation, you make a formal choice about something and tell the court in writing about your choice. For example, when you designate your expert witnesses, you tell the court what experts are going to testify for you in your trial. If you designate an expert, you will be allowed to have that person testify at trial, but you don't have to call the expert to testify if you change your mind. On the other hand, if you don't designate an expert, and you allow the deadline to pass, you will not be allowed to use that expert as a witness for you in the trial.
Disclosures - In a scheduling order, the term disclosures refers to certain information that the parties must give each other at specific times in the lawsuit. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a), (f); but see Local Rule CV-16(c).
Discovery - In a lawsuit, each party has several months to discover information about the case, commonly by (1) sending the other side interrogatories (written questions), (2) deposing people who might be witnesses at trial (see "deposition," above), (3) requiring the other side to produce (turn over copies of) important documents, and (4) inspecting objects or places involved in the case. These activities are called discovery and do not involve the judge unless the parties begin to argue about the discovery process. Both sides may ask about information that might not be admitted as evidence at the trial, if the information is likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 26 (general info), 37 (consequences of not cooperating), 27-36 (specific procedures); see also Local Rules CV-26, CV-30, CV-32, CV-33, CV- 36, CV-37, CV-7(i).
Dismissal - An order by the judge throwing out the plaintiff s case. If a dismissal is on the merits or with prejudice, the court makes a final decision against you, and you will not be allowed to file your case again. If the decision is not on the merits or without prejudice, you may be able to re-file your case after correcting whatever technical problem the judge found. Either way, you have a right to appeal the judge's decision. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41.
Dispose - To end the case in favor of either side.
Disposition - Literally, a disposition of the case is a decision that ends the case. Disposition can also refer to how the court handles the case as it progresses.
Dispositive motion - A motion that would end all or part of the case, such as a motion for summary judgment.
Disputed matter - Something the parties do not agree about.
Docket - The list of cases that are scheduled to go before the judge for a hearing or trial.
Evidence - Documents and testimony that the judge and/or the jury will consider when making decisions about your case.
Exhibits - Documents used to support your story. See Local Rule CV-26(b) (how exhibits are to be marked for the court).
Expedite - To expedite something is to make it happen more quickly.
Expedited Docket - The list of cases that have been scheduled for simplified, speedy resolution in the court. Cases on the expedited docket are heard by a magistrate judge, and strict limits are placed on discovery and other pretrial activities. See Local Rule CV-16(f).
Expert - Someone with special education and/or experience, such as a doctor or an engineer, who is going to offer a professional opinion about something in your case. An expert may be a "testifying expert (someone who's going to be a witness for you at trial) or a consulting expert (someone who looks over your case and explains things to you, who will not testify at trial). See Fed. R. Evid. 702-706.
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure - These are the rules that describe the procedures all parties must follow in lawsuits in the federal courts.
"Findings of fact" - In a trial held by the judge without a jury, findings of fact are the court's decisions about which facts are true in the case. Before trial, you will file proposed findings of fact to explain to the judge the fact findings that you hope the judge will make in your case. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 52.
Good cause - A legal way of saying that you better have a good reason or excuse for something.
Grounds - Reasons.
Hearing - In a hearing, the parties come to court to present arguments and evidence to the judge about a motion or pleading, while a court reporter makes a written record of what is said.
Herein - In this document.
Interrogatories - Written questions that one party sends to another party during the discovery process. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 33; Local Rule CV-33. These are not filed with the court unless a party attaches them as evidence in support of a motion or wants to use them at trial.
Intervention - An intervention happens when someone who is not a party to the lawsuit comes to the court and asks to be allowed to take part in the lawsuit because the suit affects them in some way. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 24.
Joinder - A process for bringing other people into the lawsuit who were involved somehow in the events that led you to file your suit. For example, if you sue your employer and your employer believes someone else is partly responsible for what happened to you, your employer may try to join the other person. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 19, 20, 21.
Joint pretrial order - A pretrial order that the parties work together to create. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16; Local Rules Appendix B-2 (form for pre-trial order).
Jury demand - A written statement you file with the court and send to the defendant(s) within 10 days after your complaint is served on the defendant that protects your right to a trial in front of the jury. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 38.
Jury instructions - The instructions that the judge reads to the jury to explain the law that applies to your case. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 51.
Leave of court - The judge's permission.
Local rules - The technical rules that are followed at the court where you have filed your case. These rules cover some of the same topics that are discussed in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. When you do anything in your case, you have to obey both the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Local Rules for the court where your case is being considered. If the Local Rules are different than the Federal Rules, you must follow the requirements in the Local Rules. In San Antonio, the local rules are called the Local Court Rules of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas. A free copy is available from the court clerk.
Magistrate judge - A magistrate judge is a judge who is hired to help a U.S. District Court judge process the cases that are waiting for decision in the U.S. District Court. Unlike the district court judge, the magistrate judge does not have an appointment for life. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72-75; see also Local Rule Appendix B-4 (consent form for trial before magistrate), C (rules for cases before magistrate judges) .
Motion in limine - A motion asking the court not to allow anyone to mention something at trial. For example, if something in your past has nothing to do with your case but would tend to make a jury think less of you, you would ask the court for a motion in limine forbidding anyone from mentioning that thing in front of the jury.
Narrative summary - A written description of what someone is going to say at trial.
Objection - A statement either in writing or in open court that you disagree with something the other side is doing or that you disagree with a decision by the court. If you allow bad things to happen without objecting to them, you may give up your right to do anything about what happened.
Open court - When something happens in open court, it happens in front of the judge, and usually while the court reporter is making a record of what is said.
Opinion - A court's written explanation of why it made a decision in a case.
Pattern instructions - These are sample jury instructions that are published in a book and that serve as a model for the instructions the judge will read to the jury. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 51. The judge's law clerk can tell you which published pattern instructions your judge prefers to follow.
Pending motion - When a party has filed a motion with the clerk of the court, but the judge has not yet made a decision about the motion, the motion is pending before the court.
Potential witnesses - Anyone who knows something about the facts of your case (whether or not you think they would actually testify on your behalf).
Precedent - Past decisions by other courts that give the judge guidance about how to rule in this case.
Pretrial order / Pretrial material - A set of papers filed with the clerk of the court before the trial happens. These papers organize the information for the judge so that the trial can run smoothly and efficiently. They also help to prevent the parties from being surprised by new witnesses or evidence during the trial. Ordinarily, you as the plaintiff are ultimately responsible for getting a pre-trial order filed. The local rules contain a checklist that shows you what the order should include. You should try to work cooperatively with the defendant(s) to arrive at a joint pretrial order that can be filed with the court. For a joint pretrial order, you do not have to get the defendant to agree to what you want to include in the order (for example, your witness list) -- you simply have to get the defendant to tell you what the defendant wants to include (for example, the defendant's witness list). Information from both sides is then presented to the judge in the joint order, with statements that tell the judge where the parties are in disagreement. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16; Local Rule Appendix B-2 (form for pre-trial order).
Pretrial conference - A meeting at which the parties and the judge discuss the way the case is progressing and make decisions and agreements about how the case will proceed. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 16.
Proposed order - A draft of an order that is ready for the judge's signature, containing the exact findings and instructions that you are asking the judge to make. See Local Rule CV-7(e), CV-5(d).
Pursuant to - When lawyers say something happens pursuant to a rule or law, they mean that the thing is allowed by the rule or law. The rule or law will describe any special requirements that someone must follow to do that particular thing.
Rebut - To show that something is not true.
Rebuttal expert - An expert that one side decides to use after seeing that the other side designated an expert to testify about something. For example, if you do not designate an engineering expert to testify about a piece of equipment that injured you, but the defendant designates an expert for this purpose, you could try to bring in a rebuttal expert to testify about the equipment.
Record custodian - Someone at a public office or a business office who is responsible for keeping track of that office s records. The records custodian is the supervisor, manager, or administrator who knows whether or not the records are complete and can testify about whether they are authentic. See Fed. R. Evid. 901-903.
Response - Your response to a motion by the other side is a document you file with the court to tell the court why it should not do what the other side is asking it to do. See Local Rule CV-7(d), (f).
Sanctions - Punishment by the court for something done by the parties or their attorneys.
Settlement authority - A person who has the final authority (without having to get approval from anyone else) to make an agreement with the other side that settles the case.
Settlement - An agreement between the parties in which you agree to drop your lawsuit permanently in exchange for something from the defendant, such as money, a clean letter of reference, reinstatement to your old job, etc.
Stipulate - To stipulate to something means to formally agree with the other side about that thing. Usually, you stipulate to something in writing or in front of the judge.
Stipulation - A formal agreement between the parties about a fact, issue, or procedure followed in the case.
Submit - To file a document with the clerk of the court.
Subsequent - Later.
Summary judgment - A decision by the judge, without a trial, ruling on some or all of the issues in the case based on arguments and evidence submitted by both sides. A court is only supposed to grant summary judgment when there is no disputed evidence about the material facts (the facts that have legal significance) that relate to a legal issue in the case. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56.
Supporting authority - A supporting authority is a court opinion, law, or rule that you hope the court will follow in your case. See Local Rule CV-7(c).
Supplement - Supplementing a pleading is similar to amending a pleading, but there is a technical difference between the two procedures. (This difference can become important when the original pleading was filed very close to the 90-day Right to Sue deadline or to the statute of limitations for your legal claim.) When you supplement a pleading, you change it to take into account some new event that happened after you filed the first pleading. The supplemental pleading is added to the pleadings in the case, but it does not replace your original pleading. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(d).
Trial briefs - Generally speaking, a brief is a written statement given to the judge that summarizes the facts of the case and the pertinent laws, with an argument explaining why the law as applied to these facts means the judge should make a decision in your favor. A trial brief is a document you file with the court before the trial (or during the trial) to let the judge know about the legal background of an issue that may come up during the trial.
Voir dire questions - These are the questions the court asks potential jury members to uncover any potential bias or prejudice, or anything else about a juror's personality, that would make one side reluctant to have that person sit on the jury. For example, if you are a union member, you might want the court to ask the jurors how they feel about unions, so that you can weed out jurors who would be hostile to you because of your union membership. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 47.
Waiver - To give up rights that you would otherwise have, either by failing to do something or by agreeing not to exercise those rights.
© 1998 Bexar County Legal Aid Association
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