Dallas Court of Appeals, No. 05-19-00717-CV (January 20, 2021)
Justices Schenck, Smith, and Garcia (Opinion)
Both defendants included a Rule 194 request for disclosure in their original answers. But F 1 Construction never responded. The day before trial, one defendant filed a motion to exclude evidence of damages, and the other defendant orally joined the motion at trial. The court granted the motion, excluded evidence of damages, and entered a take nothing judgment.
On appeal, F 1 Construction characterized the ruling as a death penalty sanction under Rule 215. But the Court of Appeals viewed it otherwise. The Court held this case was governed by Rule 193.6, which governs the failure to respond to discovery, rather than Rule 215 and case law construing it. Under Rule 193.6, exclusion of evidence not disclosed in response to a proper discovery or disclosure request is mandatory and automatic absent a showing of (1) good cause or (2) lack of unfair surprise or (3) unfair prejudice. F 1 Construction’s “inadvertence” excuse was not good enough. Therefore, the trial court did not err in excluding F 1’s damages evidence.
Notably, F 1 Construction did not move for a continuance in the trial court, and defendants did not file a brief in the Court of Appeals. Litigants: respond to a request for disclosure or have your evidence barred at trial.
Also of note: Effective January 1, 2021, the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure were amended to match Federal Rule 26(a) to require parties to make initial disclosures without waiting for a request.
