Agreement between Parties to Pending Action
(Rule 11 Agreement) (TX)
Summary
This template illustrates the general format of an agreement relating to a pending civil action in a Texas state court. It includes practical guidance and drafting notes. Tex. R. Civ. P. 11 provides: Unless otherwise provided in these rules, no agreement between attorneys or parties touching any suit pending will be enforced unless it be in writing, signed and filed with the papers as part of the record, or unless it be made in open court and entered of record. Enforceable agreements or stipulations relating to pending litigation are often referred to as "Rule 11 agreements." A Rule 11 agreement can consist of a settlement agreement or agreed judgment that resolves the entire litigation. See, e.g., see In re Vaishangi, Inc., 442 S.W.3d 256, 259 (Tex. 2014) (per curiam). For an example of such a settlement agreement, see Settlement Agreement and Release (TX). But a Rule 11 agreement can pertain to any matter "touching" the suit and need not necessarily resolve the entire action. In practice, Rule 11 agreements are used for a wide variety of purposes to facilitate resolution of the litigation. For example, Rule 11 agreements may be used by parties to extend deadlines, unless otherwise prohibited by a statute or court rule. See, e.g., Exito Electronics Co., Ltd. v. Trejo, 142 S.W.3d 302, 306 (Tex. 2004) (parties agreed to extend defendant's deadline to respond to petition); D.B. v. K.B., 176 S.W.3d 343, 347 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2004, pet. denied) (parties filed Rule 11 agreement extending deadline for filing motions before date of summary judgment hearing). Rule 11 agreements may be used to create enforceable agreements regarding discovery matters, such as agreements relating to the time or manner of discovery responses. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 191.1 (agreement concerning discovery is enforceable if it complies with Tex. R. Civ. P. 11); Tex. R. Civ. P. 191.4(b)(3) (agreements concerning discovery matters must be filed to extent necessary to comply with Tex. R. Civ. P. 11). As another example, parties may use Rule 11 agreements to stipulate that certain facts are not disputed. See, e.g., Westridge Villa Apts. v. Lakewood Bank & Trust Co., 438 S.W.2d 891, 894–895 (Tex. Civ. App.—Fort Worth 1969, writ ref'd n.r.e.). This template is for use when the Rule 11 agreement is made by the parties outside of open court. The only formal requirements for such an agreement are that it be in writing, signed, and filed as part of the record. See Tex. R. Civ. P. 11. In all counties, attorneys must file documents in district and county courts through the state's electronic filing system (efiletexas.gov). For discussion of electronic filing, see E-filing and E-service in State Court (TX). For additional discussion of Rule 11 agreements, see Settlement Fundamentals and Tactics (TX). For a full listing of key content covering fundamental civil litigation tasks throughout a Texas state court litigation lifecycle, see Civil Litigation Fundamentals Resource Kit (TX).