DISCOVERY PROCEDURE

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 37, art. III, div. 1

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-50 Requests for information, documents, and admission.

Sec. 37-50. - Requests for information, documents, and admission. After a public utility files with the city an application to change rates, the director may serve upon the public utility written requests for information, requests for documents, and requests for admission. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-51 Making requests for information.

Sec. 37-51. - Making requests for information. (a) A request under this division shall identify with reasonable particularity the information, documents, and materials sought. A request 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 category. (b) Requests for information may be served by electronic mail or any other method prescribed by the director. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-52 Time for response.

Sec. 37-52. - Time for response. A public utility upon whom a request is served shall provide a full written response to the request within 10 calendar days after receipt of the request. The director may extend or shorten the time for providing responses. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-53 Responding to requests for information, documents, and admission of fact.

Sec. 37-53. - Responding to requests for information, documents, and admission of fact. (a) Each response to discovery under this division shall identify the preparer or person under whose direct supervision the response was prepared, and the sponsoring witness, if any. (b) Each request shall be answered separately. Responses to requests 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 provided to the director stating the reasons for the unavailability of the information. (d) 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 section 37-54 of this division, 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 director to make copies, compilations, abstracts, or summaries from such records. The specification of records provided shall include sufficient detail to permit the director to locate and to identify, as readily as can the public utility, the records from which the answers may be ascertained. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-54 Production of voluminous material.

Sec. 37-54. - Production of voluminous material. The following procedures shall apply to production of voluminous materials: (1) Responses to particular questions that consist of less than 1000 pages are not voluminous and shall be filed in full; (2) Subject to paragraph (3) of this section, the public utility shall make available all voluminous material provided in response to a request for information at a location designated by the director; (3) A public utility will be released from its obligation to make available the requested voluminous material at a designated location, only if the volume of the material exceeds eight linear feet. In that event, the party shall make the material available where the material is located; and (4) The public utility providing the voluminous material shall file with its response a detailed index of the voluminous material responsive to a particular question and shall organize the responses and material to enable the director to efficiently review the material, including labeling of material by request for information number and subparts and sequentially numbering the material responsive to a particular question. The index shall include: a. Information sufficient to locate each individual document by page number, file number, and box number; b. The date of each document; c. The title of the document, or, if none exists, a description of the document; d. The name of the preparer of each document; and e. The length of each document. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-55 Duty to supplement.

Sec. 37-55. - Duty to supplement. A public utility is under a continuing duty to supplement its discovery responses if that public utility acquires information upon the basis of which the public utility knows or should know that the response was incorrect or incomplete when made, or though correct or complete when made, is materially incorrect or incomplete. The public utility shall amend its prior response within five working days of acquiring the information. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-56 Modifications of deadlines.

Sec. 37-56. - Modifications of deadlines. The director may modify deadlines for responses and objections at the request of a public utility. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 37-57 Objections to production and privileged information.

Sec. 37-57. - Objections to production and privileged information. A public utility may make an objection to production of information, documents, or materials founded upon, without limitation, a claim of privilege, an exemption under the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, and relevance. Objections to requests, if any, shall be filed within five calendar days of receipt of the request for information. The objections shall state the date the request for information was received. Any objection to production of information or claim of privilege shall meet the following requirements: (1) The objections shall be submitted to the director electronically and be entitled, 'Objections of (name of public utility) to (style of request for information 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 public utility 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 director to identify the documents from the list provided; (3) A public utility 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 public utility 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 three working days of receipt of an order by the director 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 by the director and for such additional time as granted by the director; and (5) In the interests of narrowing discovery disputes, the public utility may agree to provide certain information sought by a request while objecting to the provision of other information sought by the request. (Ord. No. 2023-1079, § 3, 12-6-2023)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH37PUUTCATESE_ARTIIIDIPRHE_DIV1DIPRFetched: 10/26/2026