After responding to 116 and then 110 requests for production, I asked myself, “When does this become harassing and overbearing?”. Thank goodness the State Legislature has addressed this, but they made it clear as mud. The statute that seems to address discovery abuses is Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 215. The Rule mostly deals with depositions and failure to respond to discovery request, but I will not address those in this article. The section that seems to directly apply to my question is 215.3. 

This rule seems to allude to some relief that can be sought by the party responding to discovery. Section 215.3 tells us what the court can do punish the party abusing the discovery process, but what is the standard to determine if discovery requests as written or by the sheer number are “unreasonable, frivolous or made for the purpose of delay”.  I assume it will be on a case-by-case basis as determined by the court, and a hearing or hearings will be conducted to determine if the requests are, “unreasonable, frivolous or made for the purpose of delay”. As to what the court can do about discovery abuses, section 215.2 (b) addresses that. 

The court may order that we do not have to answer requests for production after a certain number, and then award us costs and fees for having to present our motion to the court. This appears to be the most reasonable and likely remedy. We could also try to press for monetary sanctions, but the statute only seems to address monetary sanctions as a remedy for abuses in responding to discovery, not propounding it. I would be happy with a Judge telling me I do not have to answer any requests for production after 50, and being awarded my fees. As for what can be attached to a motion and presented at a hearing under Rule 215, a great deal of latitude is afforded when attaching and presenting evidentiary documents. According to section 215.6, the court can consider attached exhibits, affidavits, discovery pleadings, and any other documents. 

Therefore, it seems, according to the Rule and the Texas Supreme Court, a trial court can sanction a party and any attorney advising the party. Who wants to be the first to try this?