| name | tx-draft-motion |
| description | This skill should be used to scaffold a Texas civil motion with its supporting argument, the relief sought, a Notice of Hearing, and a proposed order. Triggers include "draft a Texas motion", "TRCP 21 motion", "Rule 21 motion Texas", "draft a Texas motion for summary judgment", "no-evidence motion for summary judgment Texas", "Rule 166a motion", "motion to dismiss Texas Rule 91a", "Rule 91a motion no basis in law", "special exceptions motion Texas", "set my motion on submission", "Texas motion for hearing". Produces a motion plus the relief sought plus a Notice of Hearing plus a proposed order in Texas format, applying the pro-se drafting framework (state the relief, cite the rule, state supporting facts, apply controlling Texas authority, conclude). Composes with `tx-statewide-format`, `tx-draft-declaration` for sworn facts (affidavit or CPRC § 132.001 declaration), `tx-draft-note`, `tx-draft-order`, and the venue overlay.
|
| version | 0.1.0 |
Draft a Texas Motion
NOT LEGAL ADVICE. This skill scaffolds a draft motion as a
drafting aid. The user — not the skill — chooses the motion
type, the theory of relief, and the strategy. Verify every rule,
deadline, and citation against the current Texas Rules of Civil
Procedure and controlling case law before filing.
Use this skill to produce a motion + the relief sought + a Notice
of Hearing + a proposed order in Texas format. The filing and form
of motions are governed by Tex. R. Civ. P. 21 and 21a. The
caption, signature block (with the State Bar of Texas bar number
where counsel signs, per Tex. R. Civ. P. 57), and certificate of
service follow tx-statewide-format.
Tex. R. Civ. P. 21 / 21a — filing and service of motions
Rule 21 governs how an application to the court for an order
(a motion) is made and served; Rule 21a governs the methods of
service and the service add-on days. Confirm the current text in
tx-law-references before relying on the points below:
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 21 — a motion (other than one made during a
hearing or trial) must be in writing, state the grounds
and the relief or order sought, be filed with the clerk,
and be served on all other parties. A certificate of service
is required.
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(b) — unless otherwise required, a motion
and notice of any hearing on it must be served at least three
days before the time specified for the hearing (confirm the
current floor in
tx-law-references).
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 21(f) — electronic filing is mandatory
for those required to e-file and e-service is the default method
for e-filers (see
tx-file-packet for eFileTexas mechanics).
- Tex. R. Civ. P. 21a — sets the service methods (e-service,
mail, commercial delivery, fax, in person) and the service
add-on days (the +3-day add-on for service by mail / commercial
delivery / fax / email; the exact triggers are drift-prone —
point to
tx-law-references and compute with tx-deadlines).
How a Texas motion gets decided — submission vs. oral hearing
A Texas trial court may decide many motions in one of two ways, and
the assigned court's local rules and the judge's practice control
which:
- By submission — the court rules on the papers without an oral
hearing. The Notice of Hearing sets a submission date by which
responses are due and after which the court may rule. Most routine,
non-evidentiary motions are decided on submission.
- By oral hearing — the court sets the motion for argument on a
date and time. Dispositive and evidentiary motions are commonly set
for an oral hearing.
Either way, the moving party prepares and serves a Notice of
Hearing (see tx-draft-note) that states the submission date or
the hearing date, time, and location. Reserve the setting through the
court coordinator before noticing it — see tx-schedule-hearing.
Caption and party designations
In a general civil action the parties are Plaintiff and
Defendant; in a family-law matter they are Petitioner and
Respondent. The initiating pleading is the Original Petition
and the responsive pleading is the Original Answer. The caption
gives the names of the parties, the court (e.g., "In the [Nth]
Judicial District Court of [County] County, Texas"), the cause
number, and the document title. See tx-statewide-format for the
caption recipe and tx-family-court for family-matter designations.
Page formatting and line numbering
Each generated document uses line-numbered pleading paper and a
footer carrying the document title and "Page X of Y". Defer the full
recipe (margins, font, spacing) to tx-statewide-format; do not
hard-code measurements here.
Motion + relief + Notice + proposed-order structure
[Caption — see tx-statewide-format]
[DOCUMENT TITLE IN ALL CAPS, e.g.,
DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT]
TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:
[Movant], [Plaintiff / Defendant] in the above-styled and numbered
cause, files this [Motion Title] pursuant to Tex. R. Civ. P. [rule]
and respectfully shows the Court as follows:
I. INTRODUCTION / SUMMARY
[1-2 paragraph summary of the case, the relief sought, and the
grounds in headline form.]
II. FACTS
[Numbered factual paragraphs. Each material fact gets a record
citation — Affidavit/Declaration ¶ X, Original Petition ¶ X,
Exhibit X, deposition page/line, or admission. Sworn facts belong
in an affidavit or unsworn declaration; see tx-draft-declaration.]
III. ARGUMENT & AUTHORITIES
A. [Headline of first argument.]
[Lead with the rule/statute citation; state the controlling
standard; apply it to the facts; cite controlling Texas authority.]
B. [Headline of second argument.]
IV. PRAYER
WHEREFORE, [Movant] respectfully requests that the Court [grant the
specific relief], and grant such other and further relief to which
[Movant] is justly entitled.
[Signature block —
see tx-statewide-format]
[Certificate of service]
The Notice of Hearing is a separate document (see
tx-draft-note); the proposed order is a separate document (see
tx-draft-order).
Summary judgment — Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a
Texas recognizes two summary-judgment vehicles, and the timing
track overrides the ordinary 3-day motion notice — confirm the
current figures in tx-law-references and compute with
tx-deadlines:
- Traditional summary judgment, Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c) — the
movant shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and it
is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The motion and any
supporting affidavits are served at least 21 days before the
hearing or submission date; the response is due 7 days before
the hearing (with leave for late filing). Supporting evidence is
presented by affidavit or unsworn declaration made on personal
knowledge (see
tx-draft-declaration).
- No-evidence summary judgment, Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(i) — after
an adequate time for discovery, the movant asserts that there is
no evidence of one or more essential elements of a claim or
defense on which the non-movant bears the burden of proof. The
motion must state the specific elements as to which there is no
evidence; the non-movant must then produce more than a scintilla
of summary-judgment evidence raising a genuine fact issue. The same
21-day / 7-day timing track applies.
A traditional 166a(c) motion is supported by affidavits or
unsworn declarations made on personal knowledge and documentary
exhibits (see tx-draft-declaration). A no-evidence 166a(i) motion
is built on pointing to the absence of evidence and need not attach
evidence. Confirm the current Rule 166a text in tx-law-references.
Rule 91a — dismissal of a baseless cause of action
Tex. R. Civ. P. 91a authorizes a motion to dismiss a cause of
action that has no basis in law or fact. Key features (confirm the
current text in tx-law-references):
- The motion must identify each challenged cause of action and
state specifically why it has no basis in law and/or no basis in
fact.
- It must be filed within 60 days after the first pleading
containing the challenged cause of action is served.
- The court rules on the motion based solely on the pleading of
the challenged cause of action, together with any pleading
exhibits — not on evidence outside the pleadings.
- A fee-shifting provision applies; whether the award is mandatory
or discretionary turns on the current statutory text — point to
tx-law-references.
Rule 91a is the Texas vehicle for a pure pleadings-stage dismissal.
For a defect in the form or particularity of a pleading (rather
than a claim with no basis), the device is special exceptions
under Tex. R. Civ. P. 91 — Texas has no general demurrer.
Common motion types
| Motion | Rule / authority | Notes |
|---|
| Traditional Motion for Summary Judgment | Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c) | 21-day / 7-day timing track; supporting affidavits/declarations and exhibits |
| No-Evidence Motion for Summary Judgment | Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(i) | State the specific no-evidence elements; same 21/7 timing track |
| Motion to Dismiss (no basis in law/fact) | Tex. R. Civ. P. 91a | File within 60 days of the challenged pleading; decided on the pleadings |
| Special Exceptions | Tex. R. Civ. P. 91 | Challenges defects/vagueness in a pleading; no general demurrer in Texas |
| Motion to Compel Discovery | Tex. R. Civ. P. 215 | Attach the deficient responses; satisfy any meet-and-confer requirement |
| Motion for New Trial | Tex. R. Civ. P. 320–329b | Due within 30 days after the judgment is signed (Rule 329b); plenary-power implications |
| Motion to Transfer Venue | Tex. R. Civ. P. 86–87 | File before or with the answer; verify the timing requirement |
The pro-se drafting framework — applied to motions
Self-represented filers should follow the pro-se drafting
framework (see tx-pro-se):
- State the relief clearly in the opening sentence.
- Cite the rule (Tex. R. Civ. P. ____) or statute that grants
the court power to award that relief, and state the grounds.
- State the facts that satisfy each element of the standard,
with record citations to a supporting affidavit or unsworn
declaration (see
tx-draft-declaration).
- Apply the controlling Texas case law to those facts.
- Conclude with a PRAYER for the specific order sought, and
tender a proposed order (see
tx-draft-order).
Filing checklist
Composition
- For format, caption, and signature block:
tx-statewide-format
- For the supporting affidavit / unsworn declaration:
tx-draft-declaration
- For the Notice of Hearing:
tx-draft-note, tx-schedule-hearing
- For the proposed order:
tx-draft-order
- For the venue overlay:
tx-hcdc, tx-dcdc, tx-county-courts,
tx-family-court
- For pre-filing QC:
tx-quality-check, tx-fact-check
- For deadline math:
tx-deadlines
- For pro se conventions:
tx-pro-se
- For the court-rules and statute corpus:
tx-law-references
References to author
references/motion-template.md — annotated motion + Notice of
Hearing + proposed-order templatereferences/summary-judgment-standard.md — Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a
traditional vs. no-evidence standards and the 21-day / 7-day trackreferences/argument-structure.md — pro-se drafting framework
applied to a Texas motion
