Civil Flashcards
What procedural steps must be taken to initiate a civil suit?
The plaintiff must file an original petition to initiate a civil suit against the defendants. The petition must be accompanied by a civil case information sheet.
What action must be taken to ensure that an out-of-state motorist defendant is served properly, affording him appropriate due process notice of the Texas civil suit?
The plaintiff has to serve the out-of-state defendant by serving the Chairperson of the Texas Transportation Commission.
What pleading should an out-of-state defendant file to object to being sued in Texas, and when must it be filed?
The out-of-state defendant must file a special appearance before any other pleadings.
What must the defendants file to properly raise a potential expiration of the statute of limitations, and when must it be filed?
The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense that must be raised in the defendant’s answer, and must be filed without the leave of court seven (7) days before trial.
What pleading must defendant file to keep a second suit from proceeding?
The defendant should file a plea in abatement to prevent the second suit from proceeding.
Name five tools of discovery authorized by the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
Requests for disclosure;
Requests for production and inspection of documents and tangible things;
Requests and motions for entry upon and examination of real property;
Interrogatories to a party;
Requests for admission;
Oral or written depositions; and
Motions for mental or physical examinations.
What types of discovery are available to the plaintiff to determine whether a defendant has insurance and extent of the policy limits?
The discovery tools available to the plaintiff include requests for disclosures, interrogatories, and requests for production.
Can a defendant successfully assert the work-product privilege on requests for production seeking a copy of a recording of a witness describing what he saw during an accident?
Witness statements are always discoverable and no privilege applies to prevent disclosure.
Can a defendant successfully assert work-product privilege for the plaintiff’s discovery requests seeking: 1) the names and address of the witnesses interviewed; and 2) a copy of the notes created by the defendant’s attorney.
Defendant could not successfully assert work product privilege to the names and address of the witnesses, but could successfully assert the privilege to the notes taken during the interviewing of the witnesses.
A defendant files a motion for summary judgment that the statute of limitations has expired before the plaintiff filed suit. The plaintiff failed to file a response to the motion for summary judgment. The Trial Court denies the defendant’s motion for summary judgment without conducting and oral hearing. Can the defendant file an interlocutory appeal of the Court’s decision?
The defendant could not file an interlocutory appeal from the trial court’s denial of his motion for summary judgment.
How should the Court rule on the plaintiff’s objection to the defendant filing a supplemental discovery response designation his expert as a witness after failing to designate him before the discovery deadline? The defendant’s expert drafted a report, the report was provided to all parties, and the expert was deposed by all parties.
The court should overrule the plaintiff’s objection to the late designation of the defendant’s expert because she was aware of the expert, had the expert’s report, and deposed the expert; therefore, the plaintiff was not prejudiced by the late designation.
How should the Court rule on defendant’s objections to plaintiff’s discovery requests seeking the identity of their trial witnesses?
The Court should overrule the defendant’s objection to plaintiff’s discovery request. The defendants are required to disclose the names and addresses of their witnesses.
What must an attorney do to preserve error regarding a Court’s ruling on a motion in limine?
In order to preserve error on a Court’s ruling, an attorney is required to approach the bench, formally offer the evidence, and obtain a ruling before continuing.
How should a Court rule on a defendant’s objection on the grounds that expert witness’s testimony is an ultimate issue to be determined by the jury?
The Court should overrule the objection because an expert’s otherwise admissible opinion testimony may embrace an ultimate issue.
How should the Court rule on plaintiff’s objection to photographs, produced in response to to written discovery, from of an accident scene taken by an investigating police officer?
The plaintiff’s objection should be overruled. Documents produced in response to written discovery are presumed authentic and may be used at trial against the producing party.
