Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2850 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	H.B. No. 2850
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to discovery procedures for civil actions brought under
6	6	the Family Code.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. The Family Code is amended by adding Title 6 to
9	9	read as follows:
10	10	TITLE 6. CIVIL PROCEDURE
11	11	CHAPTER 301. DISCOVERY PROCEDURES FOR CIVIL ACTIONS
12	12	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
13	13	Sec. 301.001. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter
14	14	applies only to a civil action brought under this code.
15	15	Sec. 301.002. CONFLICT WITH TEXAS RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE.
16	16	Notwithstanding Section 22.004, Government Code, this chapter may
17	17	not be modified or repealed by a rule adopted by the supreme court.
18	18	Sec. 301.003. DRAFT EXPERT REPORTS AND DISCLOSURES
19	19	PROTECTED. A draft expert report or draft disclosure required
20	20	under this chapter is protected from discovery, regardless of the
21	21	form in which the draft is recorded.
22	22	SUBCHAPTER B. REQUEST FOR DISCLOSURE
23	23	Sec. 301.051. REQUEST. Not later than the 30th day before
24	24	the last day of any applicable discovery period, a party may obtain
25	25	disclosure from another party of the information or material
26	26	described by Section 301.052 by serving the other party the
27	27	following request:
28	28	"Under Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Family Code, you are
29	29	requested to disclose, not later than the 30th day after the date of
30	30	service of this request, the information or material described by
31	31	Section (state applicable provision of Section 301.052)."
32	32	Sec. 301.052. CONTENT. (a) A party may request disclosure
33	33	under Section 301.051 of any or all of the following:
34	34	(1) the correct names of the parties to the action;
35	35	(2) the name, address, and telephone number of any
36	36	potential parties;
37	37	(3) the legal theories and, in general, the factual
38	38	bases of the responding party's claims or defenses;
39	39	(4) the amount and any method of calculating economic
40	40	damages;
41	41	(5) the name, address, and telephone number of any
42	42	person having knowledge of relevant facts and a brief statement of
43	43	each identified person's connection with the action;
44	44	(6) for any testifying expert:
45	45	(A) the expert's name, address, and telephone
46	46	number;
47	47	(B) the subject matter on which the expert will
48	48	testify;
49	49	(C) the general substance of the expert's mental
50	50	impressions and opinions and a brief summary of the basis for those
51	51	impressions and opinions, or if the expert is not retained by,
52	52	employed by, or otherwise subject to the control of the responding
53	53	party, documents reflecting that information; and
54	54	(D) if the expert is retained by, employed by, or
55	55	otherwise subject to the control of the responding party:
56	56	(i) all documents, tangible things,
57	57	reports, models, or data compilations that have been provided to,
58	58	reviewed by, or prepared by or for the expert in anticipation of the
59	59	expert's testimony; and
60	60	(ii) the expert's current resume and
61	61	biography;
62	62	(7) any discoverable settlement agreement described
63	63	by Rule 192.3(g), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
64	64	(8) any discoverable witness settlement described by
65	65	Rule 192.3(h), Texas Rules of Civil Procedure;
66	66	(9) in an action alleging physical or mental injury
67	67	and damages from the occurrence that is the subject of the action:
68	68	(A) all medical records and bills that are
69	69	reasonably related to the injuries or damages asserted; or
70	70	(B) an authorization permitting the disclosure
71	71	of the information described by Paragraph (A);
72	72	(10) in an action alleging physical or mental injury
73	73	and damages from the occurrence that is the subject of the action,
74	74	all medical records and bills obtained by the responding party
75	75	through an authorization provided by the requesting party; and
76	76	(11) the name, address, and telephone number of any
77	77	person who may be designated as a responsible third party.
78	78	(b) For purposes of Subsection (a)(3), the responding party
79	79	is not required to compile all evidence that may be offered at
80	80	trial.
81	81	Sec. 301.053. RESPONSE. The responding party must serve a
82	82	written response on the requesting party not later than the 30th day
83	83	after the date the requesting party serves a request under Section
84	84	301.051, except that:
85	85	(1) a defendant served with a request before the
86	86	defendant's answer is due is not required to respond until the 50th
87	87	day after the date the request is served; and
88	88	(2) a response to a request under Section
89	89	301.052(a)(6) is governed by Subchapter C.
90	90	Sec. 301.054. PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS AND TANGIBLE ITEMS.
91	91	The responding party shall provide copies of documents and other
92	92	tangible items with the response to a request served under Section
93	93	301.051 unless:
94	94	(1) the responsive documents are voluminous;
95	95	(2) the responding party states a reasonable time and
96	96	place for the production of the documents;
97	97	(3) the responding party produces the documents at the
98	98	time and place stated under Subdivision (2) unless otherwise agreed
99	99	by the parties or ordered by the court; and
100	100	(4) the responding party provides the requesting party
101	101	a reasonable opportunity to inspect the documents.
102	102	Sec. 301.055. WORK PRODUCT OBJECTION PROHIBITED. A party
103	103	may not assert a work product privilege for or object on the basis
104	104	of a work product privilege to a request served under Section
105	105	301.051.
106	106	Sec. 301.056. CERTAIN RESPONSES NOT ADMISSIBLE. A response
107	107	to a request under Section 301.052(a)(3) or (4) that has been
108	108	changed by an amended or supplemental response is not admissible
109	109	and may not be used for impeachment.
110	110	SUBCHAPTER C. DISCOVERY REGARDING TESTIFYING EXPERT WITNESSES
111	111	Sec. 301.101. PERMISSIBLE DISCOVERY METHODS. A party may
112	112	request another party to designate and disclose information
113	113	concerning testifying expert witnesses only through:
114	114	(1) a disclosure request served under Section 301.051;
115	115	or
116	116	(2) a deposition or report permitted by this
117	117	subchapter.
118	118	Sec. 301.102. DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE. Unless otherwise
119	119	ordered by the court, a responding party shall provide the
120	120	information requested under Section 301.052(a)(6) not later than
121	121	the later of:
122	122	(1) the 30th day after the date the request is served;
123	123	or
124	124	(2) either, as applicable:
125	125	(A) with respect to an expert testifying for a
126	126	party seeking affirmative relief, the 90th day before the end of the
127	127	discovery period; or
128	128	(B) with respect to an expert not described by
129	129	Paragraph (A), the 60th day before the end of the discovery period.
130	130	Sec. 301.103. DEPOSITION AVAILABILITY. (a) A party
131	131	seeking affirmative relief shall make an expert retained by,
132	132	employed by, or otherwise under the control of the party available
133	133	for a deposition in accordance with this section.
134	134	(b) If a party seeking affirmative relief does not provide a
135	135	report of the party's expert's factual observations, tests,
136	136	supporting data, calculations, photographs, and opinions when the
137	137	party designates the expert, the party shall make the expert
138	138	available for a deposition reasonably promptly after the
139	139	designation. If the deposition cannot be reasonably concluded more
140	140	than 15 days before the deadline for designating other experts due
141	141	to the actions of the party who designated the expert, the court
142	142	shall extend the deadline for other experts testifying on the same
143	143	subject.
144	144	(c) If a party seeking affirmative relief provides a report
145	145	of the party's expert's factual observations, tests, supporting
146	146	data, calculations, photographs, and opinions when the party
147	147	designates the expert, the party is not required to make the expert
148	148	available for a deposition until reasonably promptly after all
149	149	other experts have been designated.
150	150	(d) A party not seeking affirmative relief shall make an
151	151	expert retained by, employed by, or otherwise under the control of
152	152	the party available for a deposition reasonably promptly after the
153	153	party designates the expert and the experts testifying on the same
154	154	subject for the party seeking affirmative relief have been deposed.
155	155	Sec. 301.104. CONTENT OF ORAL DEPOSITIONS AND COURT-ORDERED
156	156	REPORTS. In addition to a disclosure request served under Section
157	157	301.051, a party may obtain discovery by oral deposition and a
158	158	report prepared in accordance with Section 301.105 of:
159	159	(1) the subject matter on which a testifying expert is
160	160	expected to testify;
161	161	(2) the expert's mental impressions and opinions;
162	162	(3) the facts known to the expert, regardless of when
163	163	the factual information is acquired, that relate to or form the
164	164	basis of the expert's mental impressions and opinions; and
165	165	(4) other discoverable items, including documents not
166	166	produced in response to a disclosure request.
167	167	Sec. 301.105. COURT-ORDERED REPORTS. If the discoverable
168	168	factual observations, tests, supporting data, calculations,
169	169	photographs, or opinions of an expert are not recorded and reduced
170	170	to tangible form, the court may order that information be reduced to
171	171	tangible form and produced in addition to the deposition.
172	172	Sec. 301.106. AMENDMENT AND SUPPLEMENTATION OF DISCOVERY.
173	173	A party's duty to amend and supplement written discovery regarding
174	174	a testifying expert is governed by Rule 193.5, Texas Rules of Civil
175	175	Procedure. If a party retains, employs, or otherwise controls an
176	176	expert witness, the party must amend or supplement the expert's
177	177	deposition testimony or written report only with regard to the
178	178	expert's mental impressions or opinions and the basis for those
179	179	impressions or opinions.
180	180	Sec. 301.107. COST OF EXPERT WITNESSES. When a party takes
181	181	the oral deposition of an expert witness retained by an opposing
182	182	party, the party retaining the expert shall pay all reasonable fees
183	183	charged by the expert for time spent in preparing for, giving,
184	184	reviewing, and correcting the deposition.
185	185	Sec. 301.108. EXPERT COMMUNICATIONS PROTECTED.
186	186	Communications between a party's attorney and a testifying expert
187	187	witness in an action subject to this chapter are protected from
188	188	discovery regardless of the form of the communications, except to
189	189	the extent that the communications:
190	190	(1) relate to compensation for the expert's study or
191	191	testimony;
192	192	(2) identify facts or data that the party's attorney
193	193	provided and that the expert considered in forming the opinions the
194	194	expert will express; or
195	195	(3) identify assumptions that the party's attorney
196	196	provided and that the expert relied on in forming the opinions the
197	197	expert will express.
198	198	SECTION 2. Chapter 301, Family Code, as added by this Act,
199	199	applies only to an action filed on or after the effective date of
200	200	this Act.
201	201	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
202	202	______________________________ ______________________________
203	203	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
204	204	I certify that H.B. No. 2850 was passed by the House on May 4,
205	205	2023, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 2, 1 present, not
206	206	voting.
207	207	______________________________
208	208	Chief Clerk of the House
209	209	I certify that H.B. No. 2850 was passed by the Senate on May
210	210	24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.
211	211	______________________________
212	212	Secretary of the Senate
213	213	APPROVED: _____________________
214	214	Date
215	215	_____________________
216	216	Governor