Also known as: motions to compel production of documents · motion to compel · compel production
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A procedural device by which a party seeks a court order requiring an opposing party to produce electronically stored information that the responding party has identified as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. On motion to compel, the responding party must show the information is not reasonably accessible. If that showing is made, the court may nonetheless order discovery if the requesting party demonstrates good cause, considering the limitations of Rule 26(b)(2)(C), and may specify conditions for production.
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Majestic Construction served requests for production seeking years of project emails stored on legacy servers. Millennium Media identified the servers as not reasonably accessible due to high retrieval costs and refused production. Majestic Construction filed a motion to compel. The court evaluated whether Millennium Media had shown undue burden and whether Majestic Construction had shown good cause for ordering production under specified conditions.
Luis demanded detailed sponsorship contracts and revenue records from the partnership managing a baseball team. Dana refused on grounds that the request was overbroad. Luis filed a motion to compel production. The court considered whether the demand was reasonable and whether protective conditions could address confidentiality concerns.
View Screen sought production of an email chain that White Events had produced inadvertently. White Events moved for a protective order and clawback. The court assessed whether the disclosure was inadvertent and whether White Events had taken reasonable steps to prevent and rectify the production.
Flora moved to compel production of counseling notes from sessions arranged for a hotel employee after a robbery. East Stay objected that the notes were protected by privilege. The court evaluated whether the statements were made in the course of diagnosis and treatment and whether the privilege shielded factual references to prior complaints.
An employee sought production of internal memos summarizing interviews about streaming protocols. The employer withheld the memos and cross-moved for a protective order. The court determined whether the memos qualified as work product prepared in anticipation of litigation and whether the employee had shown substantial need.
Premier Athletic moved to compel production of the original contracts underlying a summary chart offered by Coastal Team. Coastal Team had offered limited access to the files at headquarters. The court assessed whether the originals were reasonably available and whether the summary could stand without further production.
A responding party must first show that the information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. If that showing is made, the court may still order discovery if the requesting party demonstrates good cause after considering the limitations in Rule 26(b)(2)(C). The court may also specify conditions for the discovery.
Supporting sources
…Center's Manual for Complex and Multidistrict Litigation recommends encouraging use of Rule 17(c) in complex criminal cases to compel production of documentary evidence well in advance of trial. [^maj-13]: The District Court found it faced with "the more unusual situation . . . where the subpoena, rather than being directed to the…