Jennifer Calfee, Courtroom Deputy
817-333-6016
817-333-6000 - General questions and new case filing.
The Northern District will permit counsel to utilize a self-calendaring procedure for the scheduling of matters requiring 30 minutes or less of court time. This procedure will allow counsel to self-select available dates and times on the appropriate judge's calendar and serve notice without contacting the courtroom deputy for a hearing setting. The court strongly encourages the use of this self-calendaring procedure when appropriate. Courtroom deputies are available, by email or telephone to schedule non-self calendared hearings as needed.
Judge Mullin's self-calendaring procedure is as follows:
Types of proceedings that may be set in accordance with the self-calendar procedure:
The self-calendaring procedure will not be available for the following:
Procedure:
After selecting an available date and time, counsel shall serve proper notice of the matter in accordance with applicable rules.
NOTE: If a motion for relief from stay is set by a party in accordance with the self-calendaring procedure more than 30 days after the date the motion is filed, the court deems that the party has waived the 30-day limitation established by 11.U.S.C. Sec. 362(e) and will enter an order to that effect if requested by debtor.
NOTE: Occasionally there may be instances where self-calendared matters are rescheduled (possibly due to docket congestion or unforeseen schedule changes). In these instances, the courtroom deputy will contact counsel for the movant, as soon as possible, so that a notice of rescheduled hearing may be issued and served.
NOTE: All hearings should be noticed Room 128, U. S. Courthouse, 501 W. 10th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102.
Preliminary hearings on Motions for Relief from Stay (all chapters) will be heard at 9:30 a.m.
Motions to Extend Stay/Impose Stay will be heard along with the preliminary lift stay docket at 9:30 a.m.
Motions Filed Between
Preliminary Hearing Dates
February 24, 2021 – March 2, 2021
March 25, 2021
March 3, 2021 – March 12, 2021
March 31, 2021 (Wed)
March 13, 2021 – March 23, 2021
April 8, 2021
March 24, 2021 – April 1, 2021
April 22, 2021
April 2, 2021 – April 9, 2021
April 29, 2021
April 10, 2021 – April 15, 2021
May 6, 2021
April 16, 2021 – April 27, 2021
May 13, 2021
April 28, 2021 – May 3, 2021
May 27, 2021
May 4, 2021 – May 14, 2021
June 2, 2021 (Wed)
May 15, 2021 – May 25, 2021
June 10, 2021
May 26, 2021 – June 1, 2021
June 24, 2021
June 2, 2021 – June 11, 2021
June 30, 2021 (Wed)
June 12, 2021 – June 22, 2021
July 8, 2021
June 23, 2021 – July 2, 2021
July 22, 2021
July 3, 2021 – July 9, 2021
July 29, 2021
July 10, 2021 – July 19, 2021
August 4, 2021 (Wed)
All matters relating to Chapter 13 main cases (except motions for relief from stay and motions to extend) should be noticed for pre-hearing conference with the Chapter 13 Trustee, Tim Truman and Pam Bassel.
NOTE: Tim Truman, all matters shall be noticed for a pre-hearing conference at 6851 N.E. Loop 820, Suite 300, North Richland Hills, TX 76180. Pam Bassel, all matters shall be noticed for a pre-hearing conference at 7001 Blvd 26, Suite 150, North Richland Hills, TX. 76180. Please obtain pre-hearing conference dates from the Chapter 13 Trustee's website at: www.13network.com
General matters with a time estimate of 30 minutes or less (such as motions to sell property, motions to dismiss case, objections to claims, fee applications, etc.) will be heard at 1:30 p.m. on the dates listed below, unless otherwise scheduled by Court.
February 25, 2021 March 3, 2021 March 11, 2021 March 31, 2021 April 8, 2021 April 22, 2021 April 29, 2021 May 4, 2021 May 13, 2021
Non-discovery motions in adversary proceedings with time estimates of 15 mins or less and trial docket call will be heard at 9:00 a.m. on the dates listed below, unless otherwise scheduled by Court.
April 22, 2021 May 27, 2021 June 24, 2021 July 22, 2021 August 26, 2021 September 23, 2021 October 28, 2021 November 23, 2021 December 23, 2021 January 27, 2022
Judge Mullin’s chambers are located at Room 128, United States Courthouse, 501 West 10th Street, Fort Worth, Texas 76102.
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Telephone inquiries to Judge Mullin’s chambers should be directed to the following:
Orders submitted for the court’s consideration should be uploaded in ECF via E-Orders and must be in compliance with the Proposed Order Specifications included in the ECF Manual. Orders requiring immediate attention should be uploaded in ECF and counsel should alert the courtroom deputy by email. It is not necessary to notify the courtroom deputy when submitting routine orders that are not time sensitive.
Disagreements over the form of orders should be submitted in writing by email directed to the courtroom deputy with copy to opposing counsel. Proposed versions of the order in pdf and Microsoft Word should be attached to the email.
Orders concerning motions that can be considered without a hearing or notice of opportunity for hearing (such as motions to extend time to file schedules and statements, motions to extend deadline to object to discharge, and motions to dismiss case by debtor in Chapter 13 cases) should be uploaded in ECF when the motion is filed.
Orders concerning motions that include negative notice language should be uploaded after the objection period expires, provided no objections have been filed.
Orders concerning motions that require a hearing should be uploaded after the court has conducted the hearing and issued a ruling.
Please allow 7-10 business days for the entry of routine orders. Inquiries regarding the status of an order should be directed to the courtroom deputy.
Telephonic and Videoconference Hearing PolicyCounsel are permitted to attend and participate in hearings by telephone and videoconference (when applicable) without prior permission of the Court, subject to compliance with the following guidelines:
1. The Court has generally made telephonic attendance possible for all hearings. A hearing will only be conducted by videoconference if directed/approved by the Court in advance of the hearing (in which case the movant/plaintiff will be responsible for providing notice to parties in interest of the login/call-in instructions).
2. Counsel intending to participate in a hearing by telephone or videoconference must provide written notice at least 24 hours in advance of the hearing to the courtroom deputy:
Judge Mullin – courtroom deputy at mxm_settings@txnb.uscourts.gov
The notice should include counsel’s name, the party on whose behalf counsel will be appearing, the case name and number, the date and time of the hearing, and if attending by telephone the telephone number from which counsel will be calling. Persons who will not participate in the hearing and will, instead, be attending in a listen only mode are not required to provide such notice.
3. Witnesses may not be examined, nor evidence offered, by telephone except in extremely rare, emergency situations in which the Court determines that cause exists to waive the prohibition. For videoconferences, see paragraph 6 below. Unless counsel is instructed otherwise by the Court in advance of a particular hearing, counsel may present argument by telephone or videoconference; provided, however, that in doing so counsel acknowledges, individually and on behalf of counsel’s client, that counsel may not have access to materials that are presented in court and that the Court will not entertain a request for continuance based upon the lack of access to such materials.
4. The Court’s telephonic and videoconference lines are live. Therefore, counsel (a) should mute their phones/computer microphones at all times that they are not addressing the Court, (b) must not place their phones on hold at any time while connected to the call, and (c) must assure that no background noise is transmitted over the phone/computer, including music, typing, background conversations, etc. The Court reserves the right to disconnect or place on permanent mute any attendee that causes any disruption to the proceedings before the Court.
5. The following instructions apply to telephonically joining and participating in hearings (important: the following instructions do not apply to hearings conducted by videoconference; separate notice and dial-in instructions will be provided by the movant/plaintiff for any hearing conducted by videoconference):
• Dial-In Instructions. The applicable dial-in number and conference code is as follows:
Judge Mullin – dial-in 817.918.4435 // conference code 247437
All telephonic attendees must dial in at least 5 – 10 minutes prior to the start of the hearing. Telephonic attendees are responsible for any applicable long-distance charges that they incur.
• Muting of the Line. Once the conference code is entered, counsel will be connected live to the courtroom, at which time counsel will be able to hear persons speaking in the courtroom and other persons on the call addressing the Court. The Court will hear all sounds on the line. Therefore, it is important for counsel to mute their lines at all times that they are not addressing the Court.
• Hand-Raise Feature. Where multiple counsel are on a call, the Court may elect to activate the “hand raise” feature, thereby placing all lines on mute. The system will make an initial announcement upon the Court’s activation of such feature. When the feature is active, counsel will not be able to address the Court until the Court receives notice of counsel’s request to speak and then activates counsel’s line. Where the hand-raise feature is active, to make a request to speak counsel must press 5*. Within approximately 5 seconds, the Court will then receive notice of the request. Once the Court grants the request and calls on counsel, counsel will hear a recorded message indicating that the line is live. Once counsel is done speaking, the Court will again mute the line.
6. If a hearing by videoconference has been directed/approved by the Court, then the following additional procedures apply. Any party intending to seek the introduction of (or to otherwise use) any exhibits at the hearing must, by no later than 48 hours in advance of the hearing: (a) file a “[Party’s] Notice of Exhibits for [Date] Hearing” with each individual exhibit (clearly labeled with the exhibit number or letter) filed as a separate attachment to such notice, and (b) supply an exhibit binder with all such exhibits to the Court. Witnesses may be examined by videoconference provided (a) the witness is attending the videoconference by video (i.e. not in a telephonic only mode) and (b) the party calling the witness has supplied the witness with (or has otherwise made readily accessible to the witness) all designated exhibits for the hearing.
7. The Court cannot and does not guarantee that telephonic service and computer connectivity will not be interrupted during the course of a hearing. Counsel choosing to attend a hearing by telephone or videoconference do so at their own risk of a technological failure.
As a courtesy, please notify the courtroom deputy by email when filing an emergency motion or motion for expedited hearing. Please DO NOT upload the proposed order until the motion is either approved and you receive a hearing date and time or if the motion to expedite is denied. The request for expedited hearing should specifically state why the relief sought is urgent and cannot wait the required notice period along with the latest date you need it heard by. Certificate of Conference is important to the court in evaluating what parties-in-interest have been contacted and do or do not oppose the request.
Typically, Judge Mullin schedules preliminary hearings on motions to lift stay on Thursday mornings at 9:30 a.m. Please see Judge Mullin’s self-calendaring procedures online at http://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/content/judge-mark-x-mullin for a list of preliminary hearing dates and for information regarding final hearing settings.
Preliminary hearings are conducted in accordance with the L.B.R. 4001-1(e). Announcements may be made regarding default, agreed, and unopposed orders by docketing the Notice of Announcement event by 11:59 p.m. the day prior to the hearing. In rem relief will be granted only if the relief is specifically requested by motion, and circumstances justifying in rem relief are shown. L.B.R. 4001-1(e) governs hearings on preliminary stay motions. Accordingly, absent compelling circumstances, evidence at preliminary hearings may be presented by affidavit only.
Judge Mullin will not approve waiver of the 14 days required by Fed. R. Bankr. P. 4001(a)(3) in a default order, unless such request was specifically requested in the motion.
Please see Clerk’s Notice 06-06 dated April 12, 2006, for requirements for motions to extend/impose the automatic stay pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 362 (c)(3)(B). Motions to extend or impose the automatic stay will ordinarily be set on a preliminary lift stay docket unless a special setting is needed to provide adequate notice. A list of extend stay dockets may be found at: http://www.txnb.uscourts.gov/content/judge-mark-x-mullin
Counsel should file a motion to shorten notice and upload a proposed order if allowing less than 24 days’ notice of the hearing.
Motions to reopen case for financial management course certificate may be considered without a hearing or notice of opportunity for hearing. An order may be uploaded at the time of filing. Please use form BTXN196 located on our website. If the certificate or motion is not filed by the deadline, the case will be reclosed
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 sets matters on this docket only when instructed by the judge. In any Chapter 13 matter set by the judge, the debtor must be present for hearing.
If all parties agree to continue a hearing, counsel shall notify the courtroom deputy by phone or email and another setting will be provided at that time.
The courtroom deputy will advise if an appearance at the originally scheduled setting is necessary.
If the continuance is contested, the court will review the motion for continuance before making a ruling. The courtroom deputy will contact parties if a hearing is necessary.
For settlements and agreed orders obviating the need for a hearing, counsel need not appear at the scheduled hearing if, prior to the hearing, counsel has notified the courtroom deputy by email or phone that parties have settled, or will upload an agreed order. Otherwise, the parties shall appear at the scheduled hearing to place the agreement on the record.
No hearing is required for fee applications served with 24 day negative notice language, unless the court orders a hearing. After the response time has expired, if there have been no objections, pursuant to L.B.R. 9007-1, a certificate of no objections must be filed, accompanied by the proposed order being uploaded. If an objection is filed, counsel shall set a hearing on the application using this court’s self-calendaring procedures or contact the courtroom deputy.
Notice is mailed by the bankruptcy clerk’s office. No hearing is required for the trustee’s final report unless an objection is filed or the court orders a hearing. If an objection is filed, it will be set for hearing.
Typically, Judge Mullin’s trial docket is scheduled on the last Thursday of the month at 9:00 a.m. The judge will schedule trials at the docket call.
The courtroom deputy schedules the trial docket call and issues the Standing Scheduling Order and summons 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:
Motions for default judgment always require a hearing.
Motions for summary judgment must be submitted with a brief and an appendix. Such motions always require a hearing.
Any matter counsel anticipates will require significant time for the court to review should include briefs provided at least two business days in advance of the hearing. Counsel should provide the court with the documents and supporting briefs.
For all hearings and trials, please provide the court with 2 copies of all exhibits (one for the court and one for the law clerk) in addition to any copies to be provided to opposing counsel or for use by witnesses.