This post series focuses on common issues which lead to objections during the discovery process, outlined below:
Introduction
Permissibility of Discovery Tool
Number of Interrogatories
Outside the Scope of Discovery
Lacks Specific Description within Request
Vagueness, Lacks Specificity, or Ambiguity of Request
Overly Broad
Information Obtainable from Another Source
Information Equally Available to the Other Party
Documents Already Produced
Request Creates Unnecessary Burden, Expense, or Made for Purposes of Harassment
Creation of Document not in Existence
Electronic and Magnetic Data
Personal, Constitutional or Property Rights
Inconvenient Time or Place
Information Unknown or Not in Possession of Responding Party
Persons with Knowledge of Relevant Facts
Premature Request
Request Seeks Admission of a Legal Proposition
Seeks Admission of Hearsay
Seeks Admission of a Matter of Opinion
Assertions of Privilege
One common error which leads to objections results from requesting information inappropriately. Texas Rules for Civil Procedure specify exactly what information is permissible to request and exactly which formats that requested information should take. A responding party can object to any request that does not follow those procedures exactly as specified.
For example, when requesting information on the designation of expert witness, Rule 195.1 stipulates that a litigant must follow Rule 194 of Texas Rules for Civil Procedure. Failure to do so means that the responding party can object to the request and is not obligated to answer it until the information and/or format is corrected and resubmitted. A proper objection might include the following language: OBJECTION: Request Calls for discovery not permitted by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
The Texas Rules of Civil Procedures are complex and frequently amended. Working with a lawyer who is knowledgeable and experienced in litigation will help avoid common errors which lead to objections that waste both time and money.
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