Tag: rules of civil procedure

A Short Introduction to Discovery

Posted by Nicholas Mosser on

Discovery is why your civil lawsuit takes so long. It’s the cooperative process of exchanging information between parties in a lawsuit, which can take months or sometimes years. The purpose of discovery is so that a case can be judged fairly on the facts and not due to a “surprise” document that the opposing party withheld until the last minute.

Basically, discovery makes things fair.

Your attorney will request discovery from the opposing party. The opposing party will request discovery from your attorney. Legal rules called the Rules of Civil Procedure govern the timing and delivery of responses. As a client, you might be asked to help answer discovery questions from the other party or to give your attorney some documents to allow the other party to examine.

There are three main types of discovery requests that might require client input: requests for admission, requests for production, and interrogatories.

Requests for Admission. This type of discovery request comes in the form of statements that you must admit or deny. You can also say that you don’t know or don’t have enough information to answer the question. Here are examples:

  1. Admit or deny that you are the managing partner of Local Business.
  2. Admit or deny that Local Business signed a contract with Widget Corporation LLC on May 12, 2008.

Requests for Production. This type of discovery request is primarily for documents. You have probably given your attorney most of the documents related to your case, but the opposing party might ask for more.

  1. Produce all originals of and all copies of all contracts signed by you and Widget Corporation LLC since 2006.
  2. Produce all communication (including letters, emails, texts, and other electronic documents) between you and Widget Corporation LLC concerning contracts since 2006.

Interrogatories. This type of discovery request usually comes in the form of an open-ended request for information, requiring a response beyond a simple yes or no. You might initially be asked to answer these questions and then to approve the final answers your attorney has written.

  1. Describe the safety, storage, and maintenance methods and practices regarding Widgets that you maintained in your regular course of business.
  2. Identify all persons formerly or currently employed by you who have or might have knowledge of Widget safety procedures.

As you can see from these basic examples, discovery can become very involved. Your part is to be as forthright with your attorney as possible and to disclose all relevant information promptly to your attorney. He or she will very likely have additional instructions or requests for you to supplement discovery responses as your lawsuit progresses. If you ever have questions about your lawsuit, ask them!

Remember, folks, at the end of the day there’s no substitute for having a lawyer of your own.

As always, our blog posts are not legal advice and do not constitute an attorney-client relationship!

Do you know your local rules?

Posted by Nicholas Mosser on with 0 Comment

You might know that civil lawsuits in Texas are governed by a set of rules, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, which are promulgated by the Texas Supreme Court.  Much like the federal rules, the Texas Rules (TRCP) cannot “abridge, enlarge, or modify the substantive rights of a litigant.”  But did you know that every court in Texas can also draft its own rules?

Known as “local rules” a court wishing to adopt its own rules must file copies of its local rules with the Supreme Court for approval, and those rules must be published at least 30 days before they are effective, in accordance with TRCP 3a(3) and (4).  Attorneys and parties operating within a court are charged with knowing its local rules.  Failing to familiarize yourself with the local rules can be damaging.

Consider one of the Dallas County District Courts’ local rules…

2.03. JUDGMENTS AND DISMISSAL ORDERS
Within 30 days after the Court has announced a verdict or judgment or the Court receives a written announcement of settlement from either party or from a mediator, counsel shall submit to the Court a proposed judgment or dismissal order, unless ordered otherwise. Failure to so furnish the Court with such a proposed judgment or dismissal order will be interpreted to mean that counsel wish the Court to enter an Order of Dismissal with prejudice with costs taxed at the Judge’s discretion. (Emphasis supplied).

That’s a pretty hefty rule.  If the parties notify the court they are settling, but don’t furnish a proposed judgment of order in a timely fashion, the court will dismiss the action with prejudice!  In other words, the plaintiff won’t get to file another lawsuit, and his or her only remedy is on appeal.  This is the sort of trap that could be fatal to a pro se plaintiff, or an unwary attorney.

Moral of the story:  read the local rules!