Also known as: discovery requests
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A formal demand served by one party on another during pretrial litigation that seeks documents, answers to interrogatories, admissions, or other information relevant to the claims or defenses in the action. The request must be signed by counsel after reasonable inquiry and must not be interposed for an improper purpose such as harassment or delay. Courts limit enforcement of such requests to those that are both relevant and proportional to the needs of the case.
Delta Dynamics served Diane Dawson with dozens of interrogatories demanding every household purchase she had made over twenty years even though the suit concerned only a single defective product sold last month. Dawson moved for a protective order and sanctions. The court granted relief because the requests lacked any reasonable basis in the claims pleaded.
David Dawson mailed a set of document requests to Dynamic Solutions but omitted any signature or contact information. Dynamic Solutions refused to respond and moved to strike the requests. The court sustained the objection because the unsigned requests failed to satisfy the certification requirement.
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Dixon Foods served Deanna Davenport with sweeping requests for every customer complaint file nationwide after she sued over a single spoiled product. Davenport moved to limit the requests. The court narrowed the scope because the nationwide requests were interposed primarily to increase litigation costs rather than to obtain relevant information.
Diego Duarte sued an out-of-state insurer and served discovery requests seeking copies of all policies issued in the forum state over several years. The insurer objected on burden grounds. The court overruled the objection because the requests were a permissible means to obtain facts needed to prove personal jurisdiction.
Daniel Diaz repeatedly filed discovery requests that had already been answered and then refused to participate in a discovery conference. The opposing party moved for sanctions under multiple rules. The court imposed fees because the repeated requests multiplied the proceedings without justification.
Doris Duffy requested production of thousands of archived emails from Diamond Manufacturing in an employment case. The company moved for cost-shifting because the production would require extensive review. The court granted partial cost-shifting after weighing the amount in controversy against the expense of production.
The attorney certifies that the request is consistent with the rules, not interposed for an improper purpose such as harassment or delay, and not unreasonably burdensome or duplicative.
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A court may limit a request when it is unreasonably cumulative, obtainable from a more convenient source, or disproportionate to the needs of the case after considering burden, expense, and likely benefit.
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No. Information need not be admissible at trial to be discoverable so long as it is nonprivileged, relevant to a claim or defense, and proportional to the needs of the case.
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…fact, the court ordered discovery to resolve the dispute. Meantime, while respondent unsuccessfully sought compliance with its discovery requests, petitioners brought a parallel action in England’s High Court of Justice, Queens Bench Division. It was at this juncture that the current issues arose. Seeking to enjoin the English…