Form 5-24

For a response to a notice that documents will be used at trial pursuant to Tex. R. Civ. P. 193.7, see form 5-37.

NOTICE: THIS DOCUMENT
CONTAINS SENSITIVE DATA

[Caption. See § 3 of the Introduction in volume 1 of this manual.]

Response to Request for Production and Inspection

[Name], [Respondent/Petitioner], serves the following Response to the Request for Pro­duction and Inspection:

Conditions to Response

1.[Respondent/Petitioner]’s responses are based on [his/her] present knowledge after a reasonable investigation and on [his/her] interpretation and construction of the request.

2.[Respondent/Petitioner] reserves the right to redact any portions of otherwise responsive and nonprivileged documents that contain irrelevant, nonresponsive, or privileged information.

3.[Respondent/Petitioner] will supplement responses when, if, and as required by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.

4.Any response that [Respondent/Petitioner] will produce certain documents is not a representation that such documents exist but, rather, an undertaking to produce them if and to the extent that they exist and are in [Respondent/Petitioner]’s possession, custody, or control.

Request No. 1: [State other party’s request for production.]

Response No. 1:

   [Respondent/Petitioner] objects to this request for production for the following reason(s): [state specific objection].

Objection is made to the production request to the extent the proposed discovery is not relevant to the subject matter of the suit and will not lead to the discovery of admissible evi­dence. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.3(a). The proposed discovery goes beyond the subject matter[s] of the case and reasonable expectations of obtaining information that will aid resolution of the dispute. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192 cmt. 1.

Objection is made to the production request to the extent the request would require the responding party to create a document not in existence. A party is not required to produce a document or tangible thing unless it is within the person’s possession, custody, or control. A document that does not exist is not within a party’s “possession, custody, or control.” The only exception to the rule involves the factual observations, tests, or supporting data of a testi­fying expert. In re Colonial Pipeline Co., 968 S.W.2d 938, 942 (Tex. 1998); see also Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.3(b).

Objection is made to the production request to the extent that it seeks the identity, men­tal impressions, opinions, and/or documents or tangible things containing such information of consulting experts either informally consulted or specially retained in anticipation of litigation or preparation for trial that were not reviewed by a testifying expert witness. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.3(e).

Objection is made to the production request to the extent that the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.4(a).

Objection is made to the production request to the extent the discovery sought is obtain­able from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.4(a).

Objection is made to the production request to the extent the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit, taking into account the needs of the case, the amount in controversy, the parties’ resources, the importance of the issues at stake in the liti­gation, and the importance of the proposed discovery in resolving the issues. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.4(b).

Objection is made to the production request to the extent it subjects [Respondent/Petitioner] to undue burden, unnecessary expense, harassment, or annoyance. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.6(b).

Objection is made to the production request to the extent it subjects [Respondent/Petitioner] to an invasion of personal, constitutional, or property rights. Tex. R. Civ. P. 192.6(b).

Objection is made to the production request because it is overly broad and is not in compliance with rule 196.1(b), which requires the request to specify the items to be produced or inspected, either by individual item or category, and describe with reasonable particularity each item and category. See also Tex. R. Civ. P. 193 cmt. 2.

Objection is made to the production request because it was served on [Respondent/Petitioner] later than thirty days before the end of the discovery period. Tex. R. Civ. P. 196.1(a).

Objection is made to the request for production of data or information that exists in electronic or magnetic form because [Petitioner/Respondent] failed to specify the form in which [Petitioner/Respondent] wants it produced. Tex. R. Civ. P. 196.4.

Objection is made to the request for production of data or information that exists in electronic or magnetic form because [Respondent/Petitioner] cannot—through reasonable efforts—retrieve the data or information requested. Tex. R. Civ. P. 196.4.

Objection is made to the request for production of data or information that exists in electronic or magnetic form because [Respondent/Petitioner] cannot—through reasonable efforts—produce the data requested in the form requested. Tex. R. Civ. P. 196.4.

¨    Production, inspection, or other requested action will be permitted as requested [include if applicable: subject to and without waiving the objection[s] stated above in this response].

¨    [Respondent/Petitioner] objects to the time and place of production set forth in the request for production. [Include if applicable: Subject to and without waiving the objec­tion[s] stated above in this response,] [Respondent/Petitioner] will produce the requested documents and make them available for inspection and copying at [address] [on reason­able notice/on [date] [at [time]/between the hours of [time] and [time]]].

¨    [Include if applicable: Subject to and without waiving the objection[s] stated above in this response,] [The/the] requested items are being served on the requesting party with the response.

¨    No items have been identified—after a diligent search—that are responsive to the request.

¨      Information or material responsive to the request has been withheld. [Respondent/Petitioner] asserts the following privilege(s):

Work-product privilege

Spousal privilege

Privilege for communications to members of the clergy

Trade secret privilege

Physician-patient privilege

Mental health information privilege

Peer review committee privileges (Texas Occupations Code § 160.007(e))

Hospital committee privilege (Texas Health & Safety Code § 161.032)

Blood donor privilege (Texas Health & Safety Code § 162.010(e))

Privilege against self-incrimination

Disclosure of a membership list

Health and safety audit privilege

   
[Name]
Attorney for [Respondent/Petitioner]
State Bar No.:
[E-mail address]
[Address]
[Telephone]
[Fax]

Certificate of Service

I certify that a true copy of this [document/[title of document]] was served in accor­dance with rule 21a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure on the following on [date]:

[Name of attorney of record or party to be served] by [electronic filing manager/e-mail at [e-mail address]/fax at [fax number]/personal delivery at [address]/commercial delivery service at [address]/certified mail at [address]/first-class mail at [address]]. [Repeat for each attorney of record or party to be served.]

   
[Name]
Attorney for [Respondent/Petitioner]