Chapter 20-4 Considerations Before Pleading Level 3

• Jurisdiction: United States

20-4 Considerations Before Pleading Level 3

As expressed at the outset of the preceding section, we believe plaintiffs unnecessarily surrender negotiating leverage for pushing a case to trial within a year when the case is pleaded as a Level 3 case in the original petition. Undoubtedly any party, including both the defendant as well as the plaintiff in a subsequent pleading, can compel the court to fashion a Level 3 order on request, but the plaintiff's argument for a trial setting sooner rather than later is strengthened when the plaintiff has already stated a willingness to abide by Level 2 deadlines.

If a Level 3 discovery control plan is requested, plan to negotiate proposed dates and deadlines with opposing counsel. Parties are expected to cooperate for discovery and are expected to make reasonably necessary agreements. Further, parties must include a certificate with discovery motions and requests for hearings regarding discovery that the party filing the discovery motion has made reasonable effort to resolve the matter without court intervention and has failed.⁵⁷ Recognize that, at a minimum, the court must address the following scheduling matters pursuant to Tex. R. Civ. P. 190.4(b):

(1) Trial date, or date for a conference to determine a trial setting;
(2) Discovery period and discovery deadline;
(3) Appropriate limits on the amount of discovery; and
(4) Deadlines for joining additional parties, amending or supplementing pleadings, and designating expert witnesses.

Although not required, there are other scheduling matters including those listed below which are also commonly addressed in a Level 3 scheduling order, and which you will want to be prepared to negotiate with opposing counsel for recommendation to the court:

Deadline for filing

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