HB 2138: Civil procedure; defense and objections default judgements; communication; hearing for damages; postjudgment; effective date. - Oklahoma

Floor (House) → Floor (Senate) · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill was amended during its journey from the House to the Senate floor, primarily involving formatting updates and minor text adjustments to the title page and section headers. The substantive legal content regarding civil procedure, default judgments, and post-judgment interest remains unchanged.

TECHNICAL

The title page was updated from 'HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES - FLOOR VERSION' to 'SENATE FLOOR VERSION' with updated page numbering and formatting to reflect the bill's progression through the legislative process.

Minor formatting adjustments were made to the bill's title and sponsor information sections to align with Senate floor version standards.

The section headers and text within the actual legal provisions (Section 1, Section 2012) remained substantively identical, with only minor line breaks and spacing changes to accommodate the Senate's formatting requirements.

House Committee Substitute → Floor (House) · 3 edits

MINOR

This version of the bill changes the document header to indicate it is the House Floor version rather than the Committee Substitute, and corrects formatting inconsistencies in the bill text. The substantive legal content regarding civil procedure, defenses, objections, and default judgment procedures remains unchanged from the Committee Substitute version.

TECHNICAL

Document header changed from 'Committee Substitute' to 'House of Representatives - Floor Version' to reflect the bill's current status in the legislative process.

Formatting inconsistencies in page headers and line numbering were corrected to align with standard legislative document formatting.

Added sponsor information for a Senate sponsor (Rosino) that was missing from the Committee Substitute version.

Engrossed → Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was completely rewritten by the Policy Committee Substitute, replacing the original text with a new version that maintains the same substantive content regarding civil procedure defenses and objections. The changes are primarily formatting and structural updates rather than substantive policy modifications.

TECHNICAL

The entire bill text was replaced with a new version that contains identical legal provisions but different formatting and page numbering.

Committee amendment headers and metadata were added to indicate this is a proposed substitute version.

Original engrossed bill formatting and page references were removed.

Introduced → Engrossed · 6 edits · Mar 11, 2025

MODERATE

This bill amends Oklahoma's civil procedure rules, specifically updating the statute governing defenses and objections in civil cases. The changes modernize time limits for responding to lawsuits, clarify when certain defenses can be raised by motion versus in a written answer, and add procedures for handling motions to dismiss. These updates aim to streamline civil litigation processes and provide clearer guidance to parties on how to properly assert legal defenses.

Scope change

The bill applies to all civil cases in Oklahoma state courts, expanding procedural clarity for both plaintiffs and defendants in how they must respond to claims and counterclaims.

REQUIREMENT

Updated time limits for serving answers to complaints from general rules to specific 20-day periods after service of summons and petition, with provisions for extensions.

Added new provisions allowing parties to elect 35-day response periods instead of the standard 20 days for certain situations.

Clarified that filing a reservation of time to respond waives certain defenses, preventing parties from using those defenses later.

Expanded the list of defenses that can be raised by motion rather than in a pleading, including lack of capacity of parties to sue or be sued.

Added new provisions for motions to strike insufficient defenses and procedures for treating certain motions as summary judgment motions.

Included new rules about consolidating multiple motions and consequences for omitting available defenses in a motion.

Proposed Policy Committee Substitute 1 → House Committee Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The House Committee Substitute replaced the entire proposed bill text with a revised version that updates the committee designation from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' and changes the required document reference number from 12279 to 13119. The substantive legal provisions regarding civil procedure, default judgments, and defense presentation remain unchanged.

TECHNICAL

Changed the committee designation title from 'Proposed Policy Committee Substitute' to 'Committee Substitute' on the cover page.

Updated the required document reference number from 12279 to 13119 on the cover page and throughout the document.

Added blank lines between sections 13 and 15 for formatting purposes.

Civil procedure; defense and objections default judgements; communication; hearing for damages; postjudgment; effective date.

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