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Abilene video dockets Room 2201, 3rd and Pine Streets, Abilene, Texas and hearings Abilene live hearings Room 2000A, 3rd and Pine Streets, Abilene, Texas Amarillo hearings Room 100, 624 South Polk, Amarillo, Texas Lubbock hearings Room 314, 1205 Texas Avenue, Lubbock, Texas San Angelo video Room 102A, 33 E. Twohig, San Angelo, Texas dockets and hearings San Angelo live Room 216, 33 E. Twohig, San Angelo, Texas hearings

On video dockets and hearings, parties may also appear in Room 316, 1205 Texas Avenue, Lubbock, Texas. As a courtesy, please notify the courtroom deputy by email 24 hours prior to the video docket or hearing if you will appear at the Lubbock location.

Telephone Numbers

Telephone inquiries to Judge Jones’ chambers should be directed to the following:

Judicial Assistant 806-472-5020 Law Clerk 806-472-5021 Courtroom Deputy 806-472-5006 Courtroom Deputy Email rlj_settings@txnb.uscourts.gov

Order Submission

Emergency orders requiring immediate attention should be uploaded and counsel should notify the courtroom deputy by email.

Default orders should be uploaded through ECF or submitted on diskette after the response time has expired. Take care to observe

F.B.R. 9006(f) by adding three additional days if service was by mail. Do not include findings of fact in the default order; recite only the service of the motion, the fact that no response was filed, and that the allegations are deemed admitted. See L.B.R.4001.1(b)

Scheduling Settings

Most settings are scheduled with at least 20 days notice. Disclosure statements and chapter 11 plans are set with not less than 25 days notice. Claims objections and trustee’s final account hearings are set with 30 days notice.

Most settings may be self-calendared. The court strongly encourages self-calendaring for motions. A notice of hearing must be filed and served in order for a setting to appear on the court’s calendar. Please review Judge Jones’ self-calendaring procedures and obtain available hearing dates and times online at:

http://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/calendars/rj/self.jsp

Settings that do not comply with self-calendaring guidelines may be obtained by emailing the courtroom deputy at:

rlj_settings@txnb.uscourts.gov

Telephonic/Video Hearing Policy

Video conferencing and telephonic appearances are used primarily for docket calls for the Amarillo, Abilene, and San Angelo divisions. If the matter requires testimony, introduction of documentary evidence, or will take more than fifteen minutes, the court will routinely place the matter on a "live" docket. In the event a matter is heard by video, such hearing will be conducted in accordance with Standing Order 2000-4, Standing Order Concerning Video Hearings . For telephonic appearances, see Appendix A -Protocol for Hearings by Teleconference . Counsel may request a telephonic/video hearing by emailing the courtroom deputy at rlj_settings@txnb.uscourts.gov .

Emergency/Expedited Requests

As a courtesy, please notify the courtroom deputy by email when filing an emergency motion or motion for expedited hearing. Such motions should be filed in accordance with the procedures outlined in the ECF User Manual at Motions/Applications then Emergency Motions which can be found on the court’s website at:

http://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/ecf/manual/Emergency_Motions.htm

Chapter 13 Trustee Docket

In the Abilene, Amarillo, and San Angelo Divisions, the Chapter 13 Trustee’s office prepares the Chapter 13 docket and submits a copy to the court prior to the hearings. General dockets are always scheduled through the Chapter 13 trustee’s office or by self-calendaring. The courtroom deputy only sets matters on this docket when instructed by the judge.

In the Lubbock Division, the court prepares the Chapter 13 general and modification docket. The Chapter 13 Trustee’s office prepares the Chapter 13 confirmation docket.

Resets/Removals from the Docket

After hearings have been noticed, continuances may only be granted by court order upon motion. A party shall either file a written motion or, with the opposing side present or in agreement, present an oral motion. The motion shall establish cause for the continuance. The movant shall confer with the opposing party and advise the court if the motion is contested. A written motion shall not exceed two pages in length. The court may decide the motion by minute entry or by separate written order. The court appreciates a courtesy call or email to the courtroom deputy regarding the desired continuances, but the continuances themselves must be by court order.

For settlements and agreements, matters will not be removed from the docket unless, at least 48 hours prior to the docket call, an agreed order has been uploaded or submitted on diskette, or a motion requesting approval of a settlement has been filed with the court. Otherwise, the parties shall appear at the scheduled docket call to place the agreement on the record.

A notice or motion of withdrawal will not remove a matter from the court’s docket unless it includes consent by opposing counsel or no response in opposition was filed. Otherwise, movant’s counsel shall appear at the docket call to announce the withdrawal.

Fee Applications

General Order 2004-01 shall govern hearings on fee applications in Chapter 13 cases. Hearings on fee applications in Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 cases may be self-calendared. Fee applications in Chapter 7 cases may be submitted with the trustee’s final report, but the applicant must inform the court in the title of the pleading.

If a fee application is submitted with the trustee’s final report, a hearing will be set if an objection is filed or the court orders otherwise.

Trustee’s Final Report

No hearing is required for the trustee’s final report unless an objection is filed or the court orders a hearing. Notice is served by the clerk’s office. After the objection period runs, if there are no objections, proposed orders should be uploaded for judicial review. If an objection is filed, it will be set for hearing.

Trial Docket Call/Adversaries

A lists of trial docket call dates is available on the court’s website at http://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/calendars/rlj/self.jsp . The judge will schedule trials at the docket call and by signed court order.

The courtroom deputy schedules the trial docket call and trial week and issues the standing scheduling order when a complaint is filed. The plaintiff’s attorney shall serve all parties the standing scheduling order with the summons and complaint. Compromise, settlement, and stipulations are expected to have occurred prior to the docket call. Documents are also to be exchanged and marked before the docket call. Pursuant to the standing scheduling order regarding adversary proceedings:

(i) A proposed pretrial order shall be served and filed seven calendar days prior to docket call;

 

(ii) Proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law shall be filed three days prior to docket call; and

(iii) A list of witnesses and exhibits, except for those being used for impeachment purposes, shall be filed with the court.

Trial docket calls and trial settings are only reset by a motion to continue or oral motion in court. They will be removed from the court’s docket by the filing of a properly served compromise and/or settlement agreement.

Motions for Default Judgment

Motions for default judgment always require a hearing and will be set prior to the trial docket call if possible.

Exhibits

Exhibits for trials and contested matters must be marked and exchanged three business days in advance of the hearing. Per

L.B.R. 9014.1(c)(2) , lists of witnesses and exhibits must be filed and exchanged three business days in advance. Except in unusual circumstances, exhibits not exchanged in this manner will not be admitted, nor will testimony be allowed from witnesses who are not on the witness list. However, it is presumed that the debtor will testify. Exhibits must be marked before the hearing and submitted in a binder to the attention of Courtroom Deputy Julie Combs or presented to the court at the commencement of the trial or hearing.

A hard copy of all exhibits submitted in support of, or in response to, a motion for summary judgment should be provided in a binder and delivered to the attention of Courtroom Deputy Julie Combs at the time the motion or response is filed. The exhibits will be submitted to Judge Jones at the appropriate time.

Motions for Relief from the Automatic Stay

1. If the parties reach an agreement prior to the filing of a motion for relief from stay, an agreed motion and an agreed proposed order may be uploaded or submitted on diskette to the clerk’s office serving the division in which the case is pending. Do not include objection deadlines or set a hearing on agreed motions. The filing fee is waived on agreed motions.

(i) In Chapter 7, 12, and 13 cases, the motion and order must be approved by the debtor’s attorney, the movant’s attorney, and the case trustee (the trustee or attorney may authorize another attorney to sign the motion and order on his/her behalf).

(ii) In Chapter 11 cases, the motion and order must be approved by the debtor’s attorney, the movant’s attorney and the U.S. Trustee. The movant’s attorney must notice the settlement pursuant to Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4001(d).

1. The procedures and time limits for relief from the automatic stay are contained in L.B.R. 4001.1 . Take care to send notice to the parties specified in (a) of that rule.
2. If a proper notice is contained in the motion and no timely answer is filed, a default will be entered without a hearing. If a timely answer is filed, a final hearing will be held at the date, time, and place specified in the motion.

4. Prior to filing a motion for relief from the automatic stay, the movant’s attorney should obtain a hearing date, time, and location in the division where the case is pending. This is available on the court’s website under the “Judges” tab or at http://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/calendars/rlj/self.jsp

1. The movant’s attorney shall file and serve the motion and a separate notice of hearing the same day the hearing date is obtained from the website. The hearing will not be calendared until the notice of hearing is filed. This will be a final hearing; there will be no preliminary hearings unless requested by a party. Because of the court’s schedule, it may not be possible to hold a hearing within 30 days of the filing of the motion. Attorneys who need a preliminary hearing within that 30-day time should ask the courtroom deputy for such a hearing.
   1. The following must be placed below the case number on the motion:
   2. If a timely answer is filed, a final hearing on this motion will be held at [insert the time and date obtained in self-calendaring on the website].
2. The motion must contain information that a default will be entered if a timely answer is not filed and give the date, time, and place of the hearing if a timely answer is filed using the following language:

NO HEARING WILL BE CONDUCTED HEREON UNLESS A WRITTEN RESPONSE IS ELECTRONICALLY FILED OR SUBMITTED ON DISKETTE TO THE CLERK OF THE UNITED STATES BANKRUPTCY COURT AT [INSERT THE ADDRESS OF THE BANKRUPTCY CLERK’S OFFICE SERVING THE DIVISION IN WHICH THE CASE IS PENDING] BEFORE THE CLOSE OF BUSINESS TWELVE DAYS FROM THE SERVICE OF THIS MOTION. IF SERVICE IS BY MAIL, THREE ADDITIONAL DAYS

ARE ALLOWED PURSUANT TO FED. R. BANKR. P.
9006(f).

ANY RESPONSE MUST BE IN WRITING, ELECTRONICALLY FILED OR SUBMITTED ON DISKETTE TO THE CLERK AND A COPY SERVED UPON COUNSEL FOR THE MOVING PARTY WITHIN THE TIME DESCRIBED ABOVE. IF NO RESPONSE IS TIMELY FILED, THE RELIEF REQUESTED SHALL BE DEEMED UNOPPOSED AND THE COURT MAY ENTER AN ORDER GRANTING THE RELIEF SOUGHT.

IF A RESPONSE IS FILED, A FINAL HEARING ON THE MOTION WILL BE HELD AT [INSERT THE TIME AND DATE FOR THE HEARING] IN [INSERT THE ROOM NUMBER, STREET ADDRESS, CITY AND STATE OF THE PLACE OF THE HEARING]. THE RESPONSE MUST

http://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/general/fee_schedule.jsp

CONTAIN THE INFORMATION REQUIRED BY N.D. TEX.

L.B.R. 4001.1(b).

8. The certificate of service to the motion must show compliance with

L.B.R. 2002.1(g) and L.B.R. 4001.1(a) . Show the name, address, and relationship to this case of each party served.