| (a) Availability. At any time after an application is filed,
and subject to the provisions of §22.141 of this title (relating to Forms
and Scope of Discovery), any party may serve upon any other party written
requests for information and requests for admission of fact.
(b) Making requests for information.
(1) Contents. A request under this section shall identify with
reasonable particularity the information, documents or material sought. A
request seeking inspection of documents or property shall describe with reasonable
particularity the documents to be produced or the property to which access
is requested, and shall set forth the items to be inspected by individual
item or by category.
(2) Service. A copy of each request for information shall be
served upon all parties to the proceeding. Requests for information may be
served by facsimile transmittal on the recipient of the request if the recipient
has a facsimile machine available for use in the proceeding. Requests for
information that are received after 3:00 p.m. shall be deemed to have been
received the following business day. Responses to requests for information
shall be served on the requesting party and any party that has requested,
in writing, to be served.
(c) Responding to requests for information.
(1) Time for response. The party upon whom a request is served
shall serve a full written response to the request within 20 days after receipt
of the request. The presiding officer, on motion and for good cause shown,
may extend or shorten the time for providing responses.
(2) Requirements of response.
(A) Each response to discovery under this subsection shall
identify the preparer or person under whose direct supervision the response
was prepared, and the sponsoring witness, if any.
(B) Each request for information shall be answered separately.
Responses to requests for information shall be preceded by the request to
which the answer pertains.
(C) Responses to requests for production of documents, property,
or other items, shall state, for each item or category of items for which
an objection has not been raised, that inspection or other requested action
will be permitted at a mutually convenient time at the location where the
documents, property, or other items are maintained. If compliance with the
request is impossible, a written response shall be filed stating the reasons
for the unavailability of the information.
(D) Where the response to a request for information may be
derived or ascertained from local public records, the responding party shall
not be obligated to produce the documents for the requesting party. It shall
be sufficient answer to identify with particularity the public records that
contain the requested information.
(E) Where a request may be answered by production of or reference
to information that currently exists in the form of a document, computer record,
or other existing tangible thing that is voluminous, as defined in subsection
(h) of this section, it is a sufficient answer to the request to specify the
records from which the answer may be derived or ascertained and to afford
a reasonable opportunity to the requesting party to examine, to audit or to
inspect such records and to allow the requesting party to make copies, compilations,
abstracts or summaries from such records. The specification of records provided
shall include sufficient detail to permit the requesting party to locate and
to identify, as readily as can the responding party, the records from which
the answers may be ascertained.
(F) Responses to requests for information shall be filed under
oath, unless the responding party stipulates in writing that responses to
requests for information can be treated by all parties as if the answers were
filed under oath.
(d) Objections to requests for information. Parties shall negotiate
diligently and in good faith concerning any discovery dispute prior to filing
an objection. The objections shall include a statement that negotiations were
conducted diligently and in good faith. If negotiation fails, objections to
requests for information, if any, shall be filed within ten calendar days
of receipt of the request for information. The objections shall state the
date the request for information was received.
(1) The objections shall be a separate pleading and entitled
"Objections of (name of objecting party) to (style of RFI objected to)." The
request for information to which an objection is being filed shall be stated
and the specific grounds for the objection shall be separately listed for
each question. If an objection pertains only to a part of a question, that
part shall be clearly identified. All arguments upon which the objecting party
relies shall be presented in full in the objection.
(2) If the objection is founded upon a claim of privilege or
exemption under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the objecting party shall
file within two working days of the filing of the objections, an index that
lists, for each document: the date and title of the document; the preparer
or custodian of the information; to whom the document was sent and from whom
it was received; and the privilege(s) or exemption(s) that is claimed. A full
and complete explanation of the claimed privilege or exemption shall be provided.
The index shall be sufficiently detailed to enable the presiding officer to
identify the documents from the list provided. The index and explanations
shall be public documents and shall be served on all parties who are entitled
to receive copies of responses to requests for information under subsection
(b)(2) of this section. If a document is to be provided pursuant to the terms
of a protective order, the responding party need not comply with the procedures
of this paragraph.
(3) A party raising objections on the grounds of relevance
as well as grounds of privilege or exemption is not required to file an index
to the privileged or exempt documents at the time the objections are filed.
A party may instead include an objection to the filing of the index. The objections
shall show good cause for postponement of the filing of the index. An index
to the privileged or exempt documents shall be due within five working days
of receipt of an order denying the relevance objection or overruling the objection
to the filing of an index.
(4) The requirement to respond to those requests, or portions
thereof, to which objection is made shall be postponed until the objections
are ruled upon and for such additional time thereafter as the presiding officer
may direct.
(5) In the interests of narrowing discovery disputes, the responding
party may agree to provide certain information sought by a request while objecting
to the provision of other information sought by the request.
(e) Motions to compel. The party seeking discovery shall file
a motion to compel no later than five working days after the objection is
received. Absence of a motion to compel will be construed as an indication
that the parties have resolved their dispute. The presiding officer may rule
on the motion to compel based on written pleadings without allowing additional
argument.
(f) Responses to motions to compel. Responses to a motion to
compel shall be filed within five working days after receipt of the motion,
and shall include all factual and legal arguments the respondent wants to
present regarding the motion.
(g) In camera inspection. If an objection is founded on a claim
of privilege or an exemption under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, the
burden is on the objecting party to request an in camera inspection and to
provide the documents for review. Any request shall be filed within three
working days of the receipt of the motion to compel. The request shall contain
the factual and legal basis to support the claimed exemption or privilege.
The objecting party shall review the documents and note with specificity any
portions to which the claimed privilege or exemption claim does not apply.
The objecting party shall provide the documents to the presiding officer,
under seal, no later than one working day after it requests an in camera inspection.
Documents submitted for in camera review shall not be filed with the commission
filing clerk. Documents submitted for in camera review shall be submitted
to the presiding officer and enclosed in a sealed and labeled container accompanied
by an explanatory cover letter. The cover letter shall identify the control
number and style of the proceeding and explain the nature of the sealed materials.
The container shall identify the control number, style of the case, name of
the submitting party, and be marked "IN CAMERA REVIEW" in bold print at least
one inch in size. Each page for which a privilege is asserted shall be marked
"privileged."
(h) Production of voluminous material. The following procedures
shall apply to production of voluminous materials:
(1) Responses to particular questions that consist of less
than 100 pages are not voluminous and shall be filed in full.
Cont'd... |
