Texas courts are operating under mandatory deadlines that compress litigation timelines, eliminate strategic delays, and generate written rulings on everything. Here is what that means for your business before you ever hear from a process server.

Most business owners don’t think about litigation until they’re already in it. By then, the strategic options narrow fast. Changes to Texas law have made the window for good decision-making even shorter — and if your counsel hasn’t adjusted, your case file may bear the cost.

The Short Version

A motion for summary judgment is one of civil litigation’s most consequential tools. It’s a formal request asking a judge to rule in a party’s favor before trial, on the grounds that the facts aren’t genuinely in dispute. For businesses, that motion can end a case efficiently — or lock a defendant into a fast-moving, expensive process with limited room to maneuver.

Texas courts are now under mandatory deadlines to hear or consider and rule on every motion for summary judgment filed. Two overlapping changes drove this: Texas Government Code Section 23.303, effective September 1, 2025, and an overhaul of Rule 166a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, effective March 1, 2026.

Once a motion for summary judgment is filed, the clock starts immediately and does not pause unless the rules or court allow it. Courts are required to set a hearing or written submission within 60 days, or within 90 days in specified circumstances, and issue a signed ruling within 90 days after the hearing or written submission date. Judges are aware of this. Dockets are not.

What This Means for Your Business

These changes were written for attorneys and judges. What follows is the translation that matters to the people who write the checks.

1. Litigation timelines are compressing. Once a motion for summary judgment is filed, a response is due in 21 days. A reply follows in 7. The hearing or written submission generally must be set within 60 days of filing, or within 90 days in specified circumstances. Work that previously spread over months now concentrates into weeks. That compression doesn’t reduce the attorney hours required — it stacks them. Expect more billing in shorter windows and plan your litigation funding accordingly.
2. Filing a motion is now a commitment to see it through. Under the prior practice, attorneys sometimes filed motions for summary judgment as a pre-mediation signal — a way of laying out their strongest arguments before settlement talks, with no real intention of having the motion heard soon. That approach is gone. Once filed, the motion will be heard or submitted and ruled upon unless it is withdrawn. The only exit is a formal withdrawal. Clients should understand that filing is no longer a tactical gesture; it is a decision to have the motion heard and ruled upon. 
3. County selection matters more than ever. Courts across Texas are issuing standing orders to fill gaps left by the new statewide rules, and those orders vary significantly by county. If your attorney handles matters in multiple counties, each county may operate under significantly different expectations, and the orders are still evolving.
4. Oral argument may not be an option. Under the new rules, a party expecting its day in  court on a summary judgement may not get one. Courts are now expressly authorized to rule by written submission alone,  with no hearing, no oral argument, no courtroom appearance. This is not a fallback reserved for simple motions. Given current docket volumes and the compressed timelines built into the new rules, submission rulings are expected to become  the norm in many courts. A party that wants an oral hearing must say so  on the cover page of the motion or response. The request cannot be made after filing, and even a timely request is not guaranteed.  Courts have full discretion to rule on the papers and move on. 
5. There will be a written order — even on a loss. Under the new rules, a client expecting an unfavorable motion to quietly disappear may be in for a surprise. Courts are now required to issue signed written rulings on summary judgment motions. A motion that would have once sat unresolved in the file until the case is closed will now receive a formal disposition. A motion that is untimely, inadequately supported, or filed before sufficient discovery has been completed will not be quietly shelved. It will receive a denial order, and that order becomes a permanent part of the case record. This matters. A client who has received  a formal denial on the merits is in a meaningfully different position that one whose motion was simply never reached. That distinction can affect subsequent proceedings, appeal posture, and how the case is perceived by future decision-makers.

The Strategic Takeaway

None of this makes summary judgment motions less valuable. When the facts and law support it, ending a case before trial remains one of the most cost-effective outcomes available to a business, whether as plaintiff or defendant. What has changed is the level of preparation required and how precisely that motion must be executed from the moment it is filed. There is no longer room for a motion drafted in haste, filed as a placeholder, or built on the assumption that deadlines can be massaged later. The rules are tighter, the timelines are real, and the consequences of a misstep are now part of the permanent record.

Attorneys who have not updated internal calendaring systems, reviewed standing orders in every active jurisdiction, and adjusted their motion practice to reflect the new briefing deadlines are working from an outdated playbook. The gap is not theoretical. It shows up in missed deadlines, waived arguments, and denial orders that follow a client into the next phase of litigation. The courts are not waiting for the bar to catch up, and neither are opposing counsel who already know the rules.

The best time to assess litigation exposure and strategy is before a lawsuit arrives. The second-best time is before a motion gets filed. Either way, the window to act within full optionality is shorter than most clients expect.

Know Where You Stand Before the Clock Starts

Treaty Oak Law Group works with business owners and employers across Texas on litigation risk, employment disputes, and commercial matters. A strategy session is a direct conversation about your specific exposure, your jurisdiction, and what the new rules mean for any matter currently on your radar. It is not a sales pitch. If something is headed towards litigation, now is the time to understand exactly where you stand.