Eff. 07/05/2018
CAUSENO.
§ IN THE DISTRICTCOURT
§
vs. §TARRANT COUNTY, TEXAS
§
§348THJUDICIAL DISTRICTCOURT
DISCOVERY AND DOCKET CONTROL PLAN FOR LEVEL 3CASE
InaccordancewithRules166,190,and191oftheTexas Rules of Civil Procedure, theCourt makes thefollowingorderandsets thefollowingdeadlines:
TRIAL SETTING
______1.TRIALSETTING.Thetrialofthiscauseissetforthisdateat
9:00 A.M.
Reset or continuance of the Trial Setting will not alter any deadline established in this Order or established by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, unless specifically provided by Rule 11 Agreement of the parties or Court order after motion showing goodcause.
PRETRIAL MATTERS
______2.PRETRIALHEARING.Apretrialhearingshallbeheldon thisdate
(Court will set)atwhichtimeanypendingmotionsincludingmotionsinlimine, special
exceptions, videotaped deposition objections, or other pretrial matters must be presented to the Court in advance of trial for consideration. At this time, each party must designate videotaped deposition testimony that each party intends to use at trial and provide each party with specific deposition excerpts. (See #20 below) Prior to this hearing, all attorneys must confer on all pendingmotions.
______3.JOINDEROFPARTIES.Noadditionalpartiesmaybejoined after thisdateexceptonmotionforleaveshowinggoodcause.This paragraphdoesnotaltertherequirementsofTexas Rules of Civil Procedure 38.NOTE:Thepartyjoininganadditional partymust serveacopyofthisPlanonthenewparty concurrentlywiththe pleadingjoiningthenewparty.
______4.FOREIGN LAW. Motions to determine law of another jurisdiction
must be filed by this date. Failure to do so is a waiver of such
contention and Texas law willapply.
______5.PLAINTIFF’S EXPERT DESIGNATIONS. Plaintiff shall file
Withthe Court and serve all attorneys of record with his/her/its
written designation of expert witnesses in the form of supplemental answers to Request for Disclosure. Plaintiff shall contemporaneously furnish all attorneys of record with written reports of such experts. Reports shall not be required of any Plaintiff or of any non-retained expert unless the non-retained expert has opinions, which have not been reasonably disclosed in his/her business records, in response to Request for Disclosure or in deposition testimony.
______6.DEFENDANT’S EXPERT DESIGNATIONS. Defendant shall
file with the Court and serve all attorneys of record with his/her/its written designation of expert witnesses in the form of supplemental answers to Requests for Disclosure. Defendant shall contemporaneously furnish all attorneys of record with written reports of such experts. Reports shall not be required of any Defendant or of any non-retained expert unless the non-retained expert has opinions, which have not been reasonably disclosed in his/her business records, in response to Request for Disclosure or in deposition testimony.
______7.PLAINTIFF’SREBUTTALEXPERTDESIGNATIONS.
Plaintiff shall file with the Court and serve all attorneys of record with his/her/its rebuttal written designation of expert witnesses in the form of supplemental answers to Request for Disclosure. Plaintiff shall contemporaneously furnish all attorneys of record with written reports of such experts. Reports shall not be required of any Plaintiff or of any non-retained expert unless the non-retained expert has opinions, which have not been reasonably disclosed in his/her business records, in response to Request for Disclosure or in deposition testimony.
______8.DEFENDANT’SREBUTTALEXPERTDESIGNATION.
Defendant shall filewith the Court and serve all attorneys of record with his/her/its rebuttal written designation of expert witnesses in the form of supplemental answers to Requests for Disclosure. Defendant shall contemporaneously furnish all attorneys of record with written reports of such experts. Reports shall not be required of any Defendant or of any non-retained expert unless the non-retained expert has opinions, which have not been reasonably disclosed in his/her business records, in response to Request for Disclosure or in deposition testimony.
______9.WRITTEN DISCOVERY COMPLETION DATE. No written
discovery may be propounded which requires an answer after this date. All supplemental answers to written discovery requests served on the parties by opposing and other parties, including requests for disclosure, written interrogatories, requests for production, and any other written discovery requests and motions must be completed by thisdate.
10.DEPOSITION COMPLETION DATE. The parties arerequired to
complete oral depositions, including the depositions of expert witnesses, by thisdate.
No side may examine or cross examine an individual witness or expert for more than six (6) hours under Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 199.5. Additional time may be obtainedonly by court order or Rule 11 Agreement of the parties.
______11.PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED PLEADINGS. Plaintiff shall file with
the Court and serve all other attorneys of record with any amended pleadings by this date. No additional theories or allegations shall be pled after this date without prior leave of court based upon a showing ofgood cause or by written agreement of the parties pursuant to Rule 11 of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
______12.DEFENDANT’SAMENDEDPLEADINGS.Defendantshallfile
withtheCourtandserveall other attorneys of record with anyamendedpleadings,includingany andallaffirmativedefensesand/orspecialexceptionsin responsetoPlaintiffsamendedpleadingsbythisdate.No additionalaffirmativedefenses,inferentialrebuttaldefenses,or anyotherdefensivetheoriesshallbepledafterthisdate withoutpriorleaveofcourtbaseduponashowingofgood causeor bywrittenagreementof thepartiespursuanttoRule11oftheTexas Rules of Civil Procedure.
______13.PLAINTIFF’SSUPPLEMENTALPLEADINGSAND
SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS.PlaintiffshallfilewiththeCourtandserve all otherattorneyswith amendedand/orsupplementalpleadingsand/orspecial exceptionsinresponsetoDefendant’samendedor supplementalpleadingsand/orspecialexceptionsonorbefore thisdate.ExceptinresponsetoDefendant’ssupplementalor amendedpleadings,noadditionaltheoriesorallegationsshall bepledatthistimebyPlaintiffwithoutpriorleaveofcourt baseduponashowingofgoodcauseor writtenagreementofthepartiespursuanttoRule11ofthe Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
______14.DEFENDANT’SSUPPLEMENTALPLEADINGSAND
SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS.Defendant shall filewiththeCourt andserve all other attorneysofrecordwithamended and/orsupplementalpleadingsand/orspecialexceptionsin responsetoPlaintiff’samendedorsupplementalpleadings and/orspecialexceptionsonorbeforethisdate.Exceptin responsetoPlaintiff’ssupplementaloramendedpleadings,noadditionaltheoriesorallegationsshallbepledatthistimeby theDefendantwithoutpriorleaveofcourtbasedupona showingofgoodcauseorwritten agreementofthepartiespursuanttoRule11oftheTexas Rules of Civil Procedure.
______15.ALTERNATIVEDISPUTERESOLUTION/MEDIATION. If
mutually agreed, the partiesandtheirattorneys,alongwithany third partyhavingfulland finalsettlementauthorityon the case,shallattendasettlementconference oranalternativedisputeresolutionprocess inthenatureofamediation toencouragepeacefulresolutionofthismatteron orbeforethisdate.Ifthepartiesareunabletoagreeupona mediator,thepartieswillnotifytheCourt,andtheCourtwill appointamediatortoserveinthiscase.
______16.MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT. Parties may prepare
and file any motions for summary judgment, including “no evidence” motions, but without leave of Court for good cause shown, no hearings on any such summary judgment motions will be scheduled with the Court until after thisdate.
______17.MOTIONSTO EXCLUDEEXPERTTESTIMONY
(“DAUBERT- ROBINSON”CHALLENGES).Partiesshallfileanymotionsto excludeexperttestimonybasedonqualifications,relevancy,and reliabilityunderRule702oftheTexas Rules of Evidence and theDaubert-Robinsonstandards bythis date. (This date should be at least 45 days prior to trial.)
______18.HEARINGONDAUBERT-ROBINSONCHALLENGES.
Hearing onmotionstoexcludeexperttestimonybasedon qualifications,relevancy,andreliabilitymustbeheldonor beforethis date. (This date should be at least 10 days prior to trial.)
______19.TRIALDOCUMENTS.ThefollowingmustbefiledwiththeCourt
by NOON on this date and copies served on all opposingparties.
Originals for the Court File (two-hole punched on top):
ExhibitList
A list separately identifying each exhibit the party expects to offer during thetrial.
Numbering of Exhibits
Exhibits are to be numbered as set forth in counsel’s exhibitlist.
Use of Exhibits
Exhibits can be displayed on the visual presenter or digitally using acomputerandthesuppliedHDMIorSuperVGAconnectors. Exhibitscanbeseenonall courtroommonitorsandheardonallcourtroom speakers. It is counsel’s responsibility to ensure that documents displayed on monitors have been first admitted in evidence and redacted, if necessary, to comply with the Court’s rulings.
LargeExhibits
Exhibitsexceeding8½”x11”insizewillbeaccompaniedbyan8½”x11”copy.Aftercompletionoftrial,thecourtreporterwillretainonlythe8½”x11”copyandtheoriginalexhibitwillbereturnedto theofferingparty.
Demonstrative Exhibits and Trial Aids
Demonstrative exhibits and trial aids may be used by all counsel and counsel’s members. Counsel shall not mark on or attach any item to an opposing counsel’s demonstrative exhibit while usingit.
Fact Witness List (separate document from ExhibitList)
A list including the name, address, phone number, and general topic of testimony of each fact witness who may be called at trial must be exchanged with counsel by this date.
Videotaped Depositions
All parties shall exchange page/line designations of videotaped depositions to be offered at trial on or before ______. All parties shall exchange supplemental page/line designations of videotaped depositions to be offered at trial on or before ______. All parties shall consult about the objections to videotapes for use at trial at least three (3) days prior to the pretrial hearing
MotioninLimine and any other pretrial matters not yet filed with the Court
A motion in limine must also have a separateOrderforCourt’sruling
Proposed Jury Questions/Instructions (or Findings ofFact/Conclusions of Law)
The pleading should be named “[Name of Party]’s Proposed Jury Questions and Instructions” and copied on a Microsoft Word disk. The pleading on this disk should be in 12 pitch “Courier” or comparable font, free of any typographical emphasis i.e. bolding, all caps, underlining, italics, etc., free of case cites or footnotes, and labeled on the disk with the case style and submitting party’s name. This document on disk should be exactly as it would be presented to a jury without signature blocks for the Judge for granting, denying or modifying any requests. This disk may be delivered to the Court on the Thursday beforetrial.)
Vocabulary List (if one is filed) - Required in medical malpracticecases.
Courtesy Copies for Court Reporter (To be delivered to Coordinator)
ExhibitList
Witness List
VocabularyList
______20.REGARDING EXHIBITS (To be brought to Court on day of
trial):
Allexhibits*shallbePRE-MARKED,three-holepunchedontheleftside**,andina three-ringbindernotebookwithnumberedindextabswiththenotebooklabeledastowhich party’sexhibits.Ifyouarenotabletoprovideanotebook,pleasehavetheexhibitsthree- holepunched.
*See Tarrant County Local Rule3.0.
**Ifthree-holepunchingtheoriginalexhibitwilldestroyapartoftheexhibit,suchexhibitmaybeplacedinaplasticenvelopeintheexhibitnotebook.
NOTE:ThisDiscoveryandDocketControlPlanforLevel3Cases(the“Plan”)controlsthe proceduresinthiscase,andtotheextentthatthePlanchangesdeadlinesintheTexas Rules of Civil Procedure andanyLocalRulesoftheTarrantCountyDistrictCourts,the Planshallprevail.AllpartiesshallcomplywiththePlanunlessitismodifiedbythetrial courtbywrittenorderororalstatementontherecordinthiscasebeforeorduringthetrial ofthiscasetopreventmanifestinjusticeorasrequiredbyRule190.4oftheTexas Rules of Civil Procedure.BywrittenagreementofthepartiespursuanttoRule11oftheTexas Rules of Civil Procedure, alldeadlinesmaybemodifiedexceptdatessetforTrial Setting, Pretrial Hearing, andDaubert-RobinsonChallenges.
Any statutory deadlines established by Chapter 74 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code are not controlled by this Plan.
Additionally,approvalofthisPlanbyallattorneysandthisCourtdoesnotrepresentan agreementbythepartiesandapprovalbythisCourtofmodifyingdeadlines except thosedeadlinesfoundintheTexas Rules of Civil ProcedureandanyLocalRulesoftheTarrant CountyDistrict Courts.
The parties are severally responsible for providing a copy of this Scheduling Order to all parties joined and/or attorneys making an appearance after the date this order issigned.
Signed this the ____ day of ______2018.
______
JUDGE MIKE WALLACH
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
(Signatures of attorneys)
______
Attorney for Plaintiff
______
Attorney for Defendant
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