The authority
Unless a deadline for filing is set by court order, a party may file a traditional motion at any time after the nonmovant has appeared or answered.Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(b)(3)(A), effective March 1, 2026
Tex. R. Civ. P. 166a(c), (d), effective March 1, 2026
When it applies
Anyone who has just been served with a summary judgment motion, or who is counting down to a hearing, and needs to know which rule applies. The answer turns on when the motion was filed: the former rule counted backward from the hearing, and the current rule counts forward from the filing.
How it is proved up
- Find the filing date of the motion first. Filed on or after March 1, 2026, the current rule governs; filed before it, the former rule's hearing-based deadlines do.
- Calendar the response for twenty-one days after the filing, whatever date the hearing is eventually set for.
- Under the former rule, the motion had to be served at least twenty-one days before the hearing and the response was due seven days before it.
- If discovery is not done, file the declaration Rule 166a(d)(3) calls for before the response is due, saying what facts cannot yet be presented and why. The court can extend the deadline or deny the motion without prejudice.
- If the deadline has passed, ask the other side to agree in writing to a late response and, failing that, move for leave at once, with the response attached.
What defeats it
- Counting from the hearing date under the current rule, which can leave a response weeks late.
- A scheduling order that sets its own dispositive-motion deadline, which governs the motion's timing.
- Relying on a continuance of the hearing to extend the response deadline. Under the current rule the response runs from filing.
Where I have used it
Summary judgment motions filed and defeated in Williamson, Travis, Galveston and DeWitt County district courts and county courts at law, under both versions of the rule.
Questions
How long do I have to respond to a summary judgment motion in Texas?
For a motion filed on or after March 1, 2026, twenty-one days after the motion was filed. For a motion filed before that date, the former rule applies and the response was due seven days before the hearing.
How soon can a Texas summary judgment motion be heard?
Under the current rule, not within thirty-five days after the motion is filed. The court must set it within sixty days of filing, or ninety if its docket requires, on a showing of good cause, or if the movant agrees.
Can I file a summary judgment response late in Texas?
Only with leave of court or the agreement of the parties. Ask for the agreement in writing, and if it is refused, move for leave immediately with the response attached.
Who sets the hearing on a summary judgment motion now?
Under the current Rule 166a(c), the clerk must bring the motion to the court's attention when it is filed and the court must set it. Under the former rule the movant obtained the setting.