Form 2-19

Letter to Client Regarding Initial Disclosure Requirements

[Date]

[Name and address of client]

Re: [style of case]

[Salutation]

I am writing to inform you of your obligation to produce documents and other informa­tion regarding your case without awaiting a discovery request under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. [Your husband/Your wife/The other party] has the same obligation to produce these documents to you.

Discovery is an important and potentially dangerous part of the lawsuit because failure to timely disclose the required information to the other party could result in the court’s impos­ing sanctions on you, including not allowing you to present witnesses and other evidence in support of your claims and ordering you to pay the other side’s attorney’s fees. As such, it is something that must be taken very seriously.

Under the discovery rules, without awaiting a request, you are required to produce to the other party, within thirty days of [your/the other party’s] answer, the following documents for the past two years, or since the date of marriage, whichever is less:

1.all deed and lien information on any real property owned and all lease information on any real property leased;

2.all statements for any pension plan, retirement plan, profit-sharing plan, employee benefit plan, and individual retirement plan;

3.all statements or policies for each current life, casualty, liability, and health insur­ance policy; and

4.all statements pertaining to any account at a financial institution, including banks, savings and loans institutions, credit unions, and brokerage firms.

Because your case involves [child support/spousal support/child support and spousal support], you must [also] provide to the other party the following information within thirty days of [your/the other party’s] answer without awaiting a discovery request:

1.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[ren]/the spouse/the child[ren] or the spouse];

2.income tax returns for the previous two years or, if no return has been filed, your Form W-2, Form 1099, and Schedule K-1 for such years; and

3.your two most recent payroll check stubs.

You are [also] required to provide to the other party the following information within thirty days of [your/the other party’s] answer:

1.The correct names of the parties to the lawsuit.      In most family law cases, this is simply the correct legal names of the petitioner and the respondent.

2.The names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any potential parties.      Unless we are contemplating making a legal claim against a third party in the lawsuit, the usual answer to this question is that there are no potential parties.

3.The legal theories and, in general, the factual bases of the claims and defenses. This question is essentially a legal question, and our firm will prepare the majority of the response. However, it is helpful to have a listing of the facts and circumstances that you believe to be most important in your case. Please provide those to us in your draft answers.

4.The amount and any method of calculating economic damages.      In most family law cases, there is no specific claim for economic damages. If you claim that assets have been wasted or transferred out of your estate, or if any assets of one estate (for example, a separate estate) were used to pay a debt upon or to benefit another estate (for example, the community estate), this could be considered as a claim for economic damages, and we would need to work with you to respond to this question.

5.Persons with knowledge of relevant facts.      You are required to identify every per­son who knows anything about the facts (good or bad) that relate to your case. We must list each such person’s name, address, and telephone number. Further, we must make a short one-sentence statement identifying the relationship of each person to your case. Please err on the side of disclosing more people, rather than fewer people.

6.Production of documents and electronically stored information.      You are required to produce a copy—or a description by category and location—of all documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things that you have in your possession, cus­tody, or control and may use to support your claims or defenses.

7.Indemnity and insuring agreements.      This requirement is primarily addressed to litigation cases other than family law. Accordingly, unless we are making a personal injury claim in your family law case (which is unusual), then the answer is generally that no such documents exist.

8.Settlement agreements.      This requirement is primarily addressed to the scenario where there are multiple defendants in a personal injury case, and parties have the right to know whether there have been undisclosed settlements made with other parties.

9.Witness statements.      You are required to produce any witness statements that are in your possession, custody, or control. A witness statement is (a) a written statement signed or otherwise adopted or approved in writing by the person making it or (b) 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. If you have any such witness statements, please provide them to us so that we can produce the witness statements to opposing counsel.

10.Medical records and bills for asserted injuries.      This requirement is primarily relevant in personal injury litigation cases. Unless there is a component of your case involving a claim that one party or the other physically or mentally injured the other party, then it is gen­erally not applicable. If such allegations are possible, then it is important to produce the medi­cal records that you possess.

11.Medical records obtained by respondent.      This requirement seeks medical records and bills obtained by virtue of an authorization signed by the other party. As stated above, unless there is a component of your case involving a claim that one party or the other physically or mentally injured the other party, then it is generally not applicable. If such alle­gations are possible, it is important to produce the medical records that you possess, including records that you might have obtained as a result of an authorization provided by the other party.

12.Responsible third party.      You are required to identify every person who may be designated as a responsible third party. We must list each person’s name, address, and tele­phone number. This requirement is primarily applicable to personal injury cases. However, if you believe there are third parties who may be considered responsible for certain damages in your case, please identify them.

We must receive the required materials by [date] so that we have sufficient time to review, organize, and prepare the responses and documents for production to the other party.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely yours,

   
[Name of attorney]