Texas Rules of Civil Procedure Flashcards
TRCP 169
Expedited Actions
TRCP 47
Claim for Relief.
An original pleading which sets for a claim for relief, whether an original petition, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third party claim, shall contain:
(a) a short statement of the cause of action sufficient to give fair notice of the claim involved;
(b) a statement that the damages sought are within the jurisdictional limits of the court;
(c) except in suits governed by the Family Code, a statement that the party seeks:
(1) only monetary relief of $250,000 or less, excluding interest, statutory or punitive damages and penalties, and attorney’s fees and costs;
(2) monetary relief of $250,000 or less and non-monetary relief;
(3) monetary relief over $250,000 but not more than $1,000,000; or
(4) monetary relief over $1,000,000; or
(5) only non-monetary relief; and
(d) a demand for judgment for all the other relief to which the party deems himself entitled.
TRCP 194.1
- *Duty to Disclose; Production.**
(a) Duty to Disclose. Except as exempted by Rule 194.2(d) or as otherwise agreed by the parties or ordered by the court, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties the information or material described in Rule 194.2, 194.3, and 194.4.
(b) Production. Copies of documents and other tangible items ordinarily must be served with the response. But if the responsive documents are voluminous, the response must state a reasonable time and place for the production of documents. The responding party must produce the documents at the time and place stated, unless otherwise agreed by the parties or ordered by the court, and must provide the requesting party a reasonable opportunity to inspect them.
TRCP 194.2
Duty to Disclose; Initial Disclosures.
(a) Time for Initial Disclosures. A party must make the initial disclosures at or within 30 days after the filing of the first answer unless a different time is set by the parties’ agreement or court order. A party that is first served or otherwise joined after the filing of the first answer must make the initial disclosures within 30 days after being served or joined, unless a different time is set by the parties’ agreement or court order.(b)Content. Without awaiting a discovery request, a party must provide to the other parties:(1) the correct names of the parties to the lawsuit;(2) the name, address, and telephone number of any potential parties;(3) the legal theories and, in general, the factual bases of the responding party’s claims or defenses (the responding party need not marshal all evidence that may be offered at trial);(4) the amount and any method of calculating economic damages;(5) the name, address, and telephone number of persons having knowledge of relevant facts, and a brief statement of each identified person’s connection with the case;(6) a copy-or a description by category and location-of all documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things that the responding party has in its possession, custody, or control, and may use to support its claims or defenses, unless the use would be solely for impeachment;(7) any indemnity and insuring agreements described in Rule 192.3(f);(8) any settlement agreements described in Rule 192.3(g);(9) any witness statements described in Rule 192.3(h);(10) in a suit alleging physical or mental injury and damages from the occurrence that is the subject of the case, all medical records and bills that are reasonably related to the injuries or damages asserted or, in lieu thereof, an authorization permitting the disclosure of such medical records and bills;(11) in a suit alleging physical or mental injury and damages from the occurrence that is the subject of the case, all medical records and bills obtained by the responding party by virtue of an authorization furnished by the requesting party; and(12) the name, address, and telephone number of any person who may be designated as a responsible third party.
(c) Content in Certain Suits Under the Family Code.(1) In a suit for divorce, annulment, or to declare a marriage void, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other party the following, for the past two years or since the date of marriage, whichever is less:(A) all deed and lien information on any real property owned and all lease information on any real property leased;(B) all statements for any pension plan, retirement plan, profit-sharing plan, employee benefit plan, and individual retirement plan;(C) all statements or policies for each current life, casualty, liability, and health insurance policy; and(D) all statements pertaining to any account at a financial institution, including banks, savings and loans institutions, credit unions, and brokerage firms.(2) In a suit in which child or spousal support is at issue, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other party:(A) information regarding all policies, statements, and the summary description of benefits for any medical and health insurance coverage that is or would be available for the child or the spouse;(B) the party’s income tax returns for the previous two years or, if no return has been filed, the party’s Form W-2, Form 1099, and Schedule K-1 for such years; and(C) the party’s two most recent payroll check stubs.
(d) Proceedings Exempt from Initial Disclosure. The following proceedings are exempt from initial disclosure, but a court may order the parties to make particular disclosures and set the time for disclosure:(1) an action for review on an administrative record;(2) a forfeiture action arising from a state statute; and(3) a petition for habeas corpus;(4) an action under the Family Code filed by or against the Title IV-D agency in a Title IV-D case;(5) a child protection action under Subtitle E, Title 5 of the Family Code;(6) a protective order action under Title 4 of the Texas Family Code;(7) other actions involving domestic violence; and(8) an action on appeal from a justice court.
TRCP 194.3
Duty to disclose; Testifying Expert Disclosures.
In addition to the disclosures required by Rule 194.2, a party must disclose to the other parties testifying expert information as provided by Rule 195.
TRCP 194.4
- *Duty to disclose; Pretrial Disclosures**.
(a) In General. In addition to the disclosures required by Rule 194.2 and 194.3, a party must provide to the other parties and promptly file the following information about the evidence that it may present at trial other than solely for impeachment:(1) the name and, if not previously provided, the address, and telephone number of each witness-separately identifying those the party expects to present and those it may call if the need arises;(2) an identification of each document or other exhibits, including summaries of other evidence-separately identifying those items the party expects to offer and those it may offer if the need arises.
(b) Time for Pretrial Disclosures. Unless the court orders otherwise, these disclosures must be made at least 30 days before trial.
(c) Proceedings Exempt from Pretrial Disclosure. An action arising under the Family Code filed by or against the Title IV-D agency in a Title IV-D case is exempt from pretrial disclosure, but a court may order the parties to make particular disclosures and set the time for disclosure.
TRCP 192.1
Forms of Discovery.
Permissible forms of discovery are:
(a) required disclosures;
(b) requests for production and inspection of documents and tangible things;
(c) requests and motions for entry upon and examination of real property;
(d) interrogatories to a party;
(e) requests for admission;
(f) oral or written depositions; and
(g) motions for mental or physical examinations.
TRCP 192.2
- *Timing and Sequence of Discovery**.
(a) Timing. Unless otherwise agreed to by the parties or ordered by the court, a party cannot serve discovery until after the initial disclosures are due.
(b) Sequence. The permissible forms of discovery may be combined in the same document and may be taken in any order or sequence.
TRCP 192.3
- *Scope of Discovery.**
(a) Generally. In general, a party may obtain discovery regarding any matter that is not privileged and is relevant to the subject matter of the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or the claim or defense of any other party. It is not a ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
(b) Documents and tangible things. A party may obtain discovery of the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, location, and contents of documents and tangible things (including papers, books, accounts, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, electronic or videotape recordings, data, and data compilations) that constitute or contain matters relevant to the subject matter of the action. A person is required to produce a document or tangible thing that is within the person’s possession, custody, or control.
(c) Persons with knowledge of relevant facts. A party may obtain discovery of the name, address, and telephone number of persons having knowledge of relevant facts, and a brief statement of each identified person’s connection with the case. A person has knowledge of relevant facts when that person has or may have knowledge of any discoverable matter. The person need not have admissible information or personal knowledge of the facts. An expert is “a person with knowledge of relevant facts” only if that knowledge was obtained first-hand or if it was not obtained in preparation for trial or in anticipation of litigation.
(d) Trial witnesses. A party may obtain discovery of the name, address, and telephone number of any person who is expected to be called to testify at trial. This paragraph does not apply to rebuttal or impeaching witnesses the necessity of whose testimony cannot reasonably be anticipated before trial.
(e) Testifying and consulting experts. The identity, mental impressions, and opinions of a consulting expert whose mental impressions and opinions have not been reviewed by a testifying expert are not discoverable. A party may discover the following information regarding a testifying expert or regarding a consulting expert whose mental impressions or opinions have been reviewed by a testifying expert:(1) the expert’s name, address, and telephone number;(2) the subject matter on which a testifying expert will testify;(3) the facts known by the expert that relate to or form the basis of the expert’s mental impressions and opinions formed or made in connection with the case in which the discovery is sought, regardless of when and how the factual information was acquired;(4) the expert’s mental impressions and opinions formed or made in connection with the case in which discovery is sought, and any methods used to derive them;(5) any bias of the witness;(6) all documents, tangible things, reports, models, or data compilations that have been provided to, reviewed by, or prepared by or for the expert in anticipation of a testifying expert’s testimony;(7) the expert’s current resume and bibliography.
(f) Indemnity and insuring agreements. Except as otherwise provided by law, a party may obtain discovery of the existence and contents of any indemnity or insurance agreement under which any person may be liable to satisfy part or all of a judgment rendered in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment. Information concerning the indemnity or insurance agreement is not by reason of disclosure admissible in evidence at trial.
(g) Settlement agreements. A party may obtain discovery of the existence and contents of any relevant portions of a settlement agreement. Information concerning a settlement agreement is not by reason of disclosure admissible in evidence at trial.
(h) Statements of persons with knowledge of relevant facts. A party may obtain discovery of the statement of any person with knowledge of relevant facts–a “witness statement”–regardless of when the statement was made. A witness statement is (1) a written statement signed or otherwise adopted or approved in writing by the person making it, or (2) a stenographic, mechanical, electrical, or other type of recording of a witness’s oral statement, or any substantially verbatim transcription of such a recording. Notes taken during a conversation or interview with a witness are not a witness statement. Any person may obtain, upon written request, his or her own statement concerning the lawsuit, which is in the possession, custody or control of any party.
(i) Potential parties. A party may obtain discovery of the name, address, and telephone number of any potential party.
(j) Contentions. A party may obtain discovery of any other party’s legal contentions and the factual bases for those contentions.
TRCP 192.4
Limitations on Scope of Discovery.
The discovery methods permitted by these rules should be limited by the court if it determines, on motion or on its own initiative and on reasonable notice, that:
(a) the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or is obtainable from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive; or
(b) the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit, taking into account the needs of the case, the amount in controversy, the parties’ resources, the importance of the issues at stake in the litigation, and the importance of the proposed discovery in resolving the issues.
TRCP 192.5
Work Product.
(a)Work product defined. Work product comprises:(1) material prepared or mental impressions developed in anticipation of litigation or for trial by or for a party or a party’s representatives, including the party’s attorneys, consultants, sureties, indemnitors, insurers, employees, or agents; or(2) a communication made in anticipation of litigation or for trial between a party and the party’s representatives or among a party’s representatives, including the party’s attorneys, consultants, sureties, indemnitors, insurers, employees, or agents.(b)Protection of work product.(1)Protection of core work product–attorney mental processes. Core work product - the work product of an attorney or an attorney’s representative that contains the attorney’s or the attorney’s representative’s mental impressions, opinions, conclusions, or legal theories - is not discoverable.(2)Protection of other work product. Any other work product is discoverable only upon a showing that the party seeking discovery has substantial need of the materials in the preparation of the party’s case and that the party is unable without undue hardship to obtain the substantial equivalent of the material by other means.(3)Incidental disclosure of attorney mental processes. It is not a violation of subparagraph (1) if disclosure ordered pursuant to subparagraph (2) incidentally discloses by inference attorney mental processes otherwise protected under subparagraph (1).(4)Limiting disclosure of mental processes. If a court orders discovery of work product pursuant to subparagraph (2), the court must–insofar as possible–protect against disclosure of the mental impressions, opinions, conclusions, or legal theories not otherwise discoverable.(c)Exceptions. Even if made or prepared in anticipation of litigation or for trial, the following is not work product protected from discovery:(1) information discoverable under Rule 192.3 concerning experts, trial witnesses, witness statements, and contentions;(2) trial exhibits ordered disclosed under Rule 166 or Rule 190.4;(3) the name, address, and telephone number of any potential party or any person with knowledge of relevant facts;(4) any photograph or electronic image of underlying facts (e.g., a photograph of the accident scene) or a photograph or electronic image of any sort that a party intends to offer into evidence; and(5) any work product created under circumstances within an exception to the attorney-client privilege in Rule 503(d) of the Rules of Evidence.(d)Privilege. For purposes of these rules, an assertion that material or information is work product is an assertion of privilege.
TRCP 192.7
Definitions.
As used in these rules
(a)Written discovery means required disclosures, requests for production and inspection of documents and tangible things, requests for entry onto property, interrogatories, and requests for admission.
(b)Possession, custody, or control of an item means that the person either has physical possession of the item or has a right to possession of the item that is equal or superior to the person who has physical possession of the item.
(c) A testifying expert is an expert who may be called to testify as an expert witness at trial.
(d) A consulting expert is an expert who has been consulted, retained, or specially employed by a party in anticipation of litigation or in preparation for trial, but who is not a testifying expert.
