Author
In 2021, the Supreme Court of Texas modified the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure regarding testifying experts. Because RPC frequently provides expert testimony in state cases, we asked Bill Christian, an attorney with Graves Dougherty Hearon & Moody to prepare a memorandum explaining the difference in the old and new rules and to identify which rules applied to a specific litigation case. We found the memorandum very helpful and will post it on our web site here. To summarize:
- Before adoption of the 2021 amendment, all communications with experts were discoverable under Texas law.
- The 2021 Amendments align with the federal rules and limit discovery of attorney communications with experts and of an expert’s draft reports.
- The 2021 Amendments apply only to cases filed on or after January 1, 2021.
It was outside the scope of the memorandum to address the question of discoverability of documents and communications between experts when an attorney is not involved. However, in a follow-up conversation Mr. Christian clarified the new rules do not affect those documents or communications. There is no Texas caselaw yet, but the notes to the federal rule and the existing federal case-law are clear that non-attorney communications are not protected.
RPC hopes you find the GDHM memorandum helpful in your practice.
RPC is not a law firm and nothing in this email or blog post is intended as legal advice. The information and attachments are offered as general information. Readers who are not attorneys should consult their legal counsel before taking any action or using the attachments.