Sec. 128.053. EXPERT REPORT

(a) In a suit against a sport shooting range, an owner or operator of a sport shooting range, or the owner of real property on which a sport shooting range is operated, a claimant shall, not later than the 90th day after the date the original petition was filed, serve on each party or the party's attorney one or more expert reports, with a curriculum vitae of each expert listed in the report for each defendant against whom a claim is asserted. The date for serving the report may be extended by written agreement of the affected parties. Each defendant whose conduct is implicated in a report must file and serve any objection to the sufficiency of the report not later than the 21st day after the date the report is served or all objections are waived.

(b) If, as to a defendant, an expert report has not been served within the period specified by Subsection (a), the court, on the motion of the affected defendant, shall, subject to Subsection (c), enter an order that:

(1) awards to the affected defendant attorney's fees and costs of court incurred by the defendant; and

(2) dismisses the claim with prejudice with respect to the affected defendant.

(c) If an expert report has not been served within the period specified by Subsection (a) because elements of the report are found deficient, the court may grant one extension of not more than 30 days to the claimant in order to cure the deficiency. If the claimant does not receive notice of the court's ruling granting the extension until after the 90th day after the date the deadline has passed, then the 30-day extension runs from the date the plaintiff first receives the notice.

(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a claimant may satisfy any requirement of this section for serving an expert report by serving reports of separate experts regarding different defendants or regarding different issues arising from the conduct of a defendant, including issues of liability and causation. Nothing in this section shall be construed to mean that a single expert must address all liability and causation issues with respect to all defendants or with respect to both liability and causation issues for a defendant.

(e) A court shall grant a motion challenging the adequacy of an expert report only if it appears to the court, after a hearing, that the report does not represent an objective, good faith effort to comply with the requirements of an expert report.

(f) Until a claimant has served the expert report and curriculum vitae as required by Subsection (a), all discovery is stayed except that after a claim is filed all claimants, collectively, may take not more than two depositions before the expert report is served as required by Subsection (a).

Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 624 , Sec. 4, eff. September 1, 2011.