Address

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 Numbers

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

Order Submission

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.

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Scheduling Settings

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Telephonic/Video Hearing Policy

Telephonic and Videoconference Hearing Policy
Counsel 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.

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Emergency/Expedited Requests

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.

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Motion to Lift/Annul/Modify Relief From Stay

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.

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Motion to Extend/Impose the Automatic Stay

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.

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Motions to Reopen Case for Financial Management Course Certificate or Debtor(s) Certification and Motion for Entry of Chapter 12/13 Discharge

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

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United States Trustee Docket

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Chapter 13 Trustee Docket

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.

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Resets/Removals from the Docket (Non-lift stay motions)

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.

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Fee Applications

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.

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Trustee’s Final Report

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.

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Trial Docket Call/Adversaries

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:

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Motions for Default Judgment

Motions for default judgment always require a hearing.

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Motions for Summary Judgment

Motions for summary judgment must be submitted with a brief and an appendix. Such motions always require a hearing.

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Briefs

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.

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Court Exhibits

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.

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