IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
REGARDING CASES ASSIGNED TO
U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE RODNEY GILSTRAP
STANDING ORDER REGARDING TOTAL PAGE LIMITS FOR DAUBERT MOTIONS
AND MOTIONS TO STRIKE 1
The Court imposes the following page limits on Motions to Strike:
a. A Motion to Strike shall not exceed twelve pages, excluding attachments, unless
leave of court is first obtained. Likewise, responses to such motions shall not
exceed twelve pages, excluding attachments, unless leave of court is obtained
first. Any reply or sur-reply brief to a Motion to Strike shall not exceed five pages,
excluding attachments.
b. If a side files more than one Motion to Strike, that side’s Motions to Strike shall
not exceed 24 pages collectively, excluding attachments. Responses to such
motions shall not exceed 24 pages collectively, excluding attachments. Reply
briefs shall not exceed ten pages collectively, excluding attachments, and sur-
reply briefs shall not exceed ten pages collectively, excluding attachments.
The terms of this Standing Order shall immediately apply to and amend all active civil cases
currently pending before the undersigned with dispositive motions filed on or after March 1, 2026.
.
So ORDERED and SIGNED this 30th day of January, 2026.
____________________________________
RODNEY GILSTRAP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
1
Commentary
For the purposes of this Standing Order, the term “Motions to Strike” includes Daubert motions, motions to exclude,
and any other motions—however styled or titled—that reflect a party’s efforts to challenge any expert witness’s: (1)
opinions or methodology, in whole or in part; (2) conclusions reached; or (3) materials they have relied upon.
The Court adopts this Standing Order to provide for a more realistic and efficient means of resolving disputes
regarding expert witnesses testifying at trial. Too often in today’s practice, the Court finds itself confronted with
hundreds of pages of briefing related to expert witness testimony. Often, each side moves to strike every possible
opinion of an expert to ensure it does not overlook something important. However, such practice is overly burdensome
on the Court and on the side obligated to review and respond to such briefing.
The page limits imposed in this Standing Order are applied to each side at trial (and not each party in the case). Since
Motions to Strike ultimately affect the testimony elicited at trial, the Court believes that the page limits are best
enforced on a per-side basis.
