What is the difference between discovery and disclosure in civil litigation?

In civil litigation in Texas, discovery and disclosure are both important parts of the litigation process. Discovery is the requesting, production, and exchange of relevant facts and information between the parties. This includes interviews, depositions, interrogatories, requests for documents, and requests for admissions. Disclosure, on the other hand, is the voluntary disclosure of information between the parties that is not requested during discovery. Discovery is intended to encourage parties to fully disclose information before the trial to avoid surprises in the court and to foster settlement of the case. Under Texas rules, parties have an affirmative duty to disclose evidence that goes beyond what is discovered. The information that is required under the duty of disclosure includes all evidence the party knows or reasonably believes is relevant to the case. This allows for sharing of information that could be important for the opposing party to know, even if it is not relevant to the discovery request. The difference between discovery and disclosure is that discovery is a formal request made by one party to the other for evidence and facts that are relevant to the case, while disclosure is a voluntary act of one party sharing information of relevance with the other party. Discovery is a formal legal process, while disclosure is not.

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