Also known as: unduly burden · unduly burdened · unduly burdens · burdensome discovery · undue burden
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
A limitation on protected conduct or speech that imposes excessive restrictions relative to the government's asserted interests. The limitation fails constitutional scrutiny when it effectively eliminates access to a right or lacks narrow tailoring.
A discovery obligation that demands unreasonable time, cost, or effort from the responding party. Courts may limit or deny such demands when the requesting party fails to show good cause or when the burden outweighs the needs of the case.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
A limitation on protected conduct or speech that imposes excessive restrictions relative to the government's asserted interests. The limitation fails constitutional scrutiny when it effectively eliminates access to a right or lacks narrow tailoring.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
State election officials require all in-person voters to present a government-issued photo ID. Umar Usmani, a low-income resident without ready access to such ID, challenges the rule as preventing him from voting. The court finds the requirement justified by interests in election integrity and does not prevent most citizens from voting.
A federal statute requires internet providers to block all indecent content absent perfect age-verification technology. Ugo Ucelli, an adult subscriber, sues after his access to lawful material is cut off. The court invalidates the law because no workable technology exists and adults lose access to protected speech.
The court weighs the state's interests in election integrity against the severity of the burden on voters. An evenhanded photo ID rule survives when the interests are sufficiently weighty and the burden is not severe for most citizens.
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A statute that conditions adult access to protected indecent speech on nonexistent perfect age-verification technology operates as a total ban. The absence of workable technology renders the restriction overbroad and unconstitutional.
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A discovery obligation that demands unreasonable time, cost, or effort from the responding party. Courts may limit or deny such demands when the requesting party fails to show good cause or when the burden outweighs the needs of the case.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Union Steel faces a request for all emails from legacy servers spanning fifteen years. The company shows the data sits on outdated tapes that would cost hundreds of thousands to restore. The court denies the motion to compel because the information is not reasonably accessible.
Upland Industries moves for protection from a deposition notice covering twenty corporate officers on overlapping topics. The company certifies it conferred with opposing counsel yet the requests remain duplicative. The court limits the deposition to three officers and caps its length.
Ultrasonic Dynamics serves 150 interrogatories seeking every internal email about a minor contract dispute. Counsel certifies the requests are proportional. The court finds the volume unreasonable given the amount in controversy and imposes sanctions on the signer.
A party need not produce ESI from sources identified as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. The responding party must make that showing, after which the requesting party may still obtain the data by demonstrating good cause.
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The movant must certify a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute and demonstrate that the requested discovery would cause annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense. The court may then limit the discovery or allocate costs.
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…the District Court agreed, and concluded that Washington's assisted-suicide ban is unconstitutional because it "places an undue burden on the exercise of [that] constitutionally protected liberty interest." The District Court also decided that the Washington statute violated the Equal Protection Clause's requirement that…
…today undertakes a reexamination of all the possibilities. Ante , at 1039. It rejects the first approach as inefficient and unduly burdensome for state courts, and rejects the second approach as an inappropriate expenditure of our resources. Ante , at 1039-1040. Although I find both of those decisions defensible in themselves, I…
…claims brought in distant States with which the defendant has little or no association and in which he would be faced with an
…was "calculated to provoke breaches of the peace," "threaten[ed] the safety, peace and tranquility of the City," and placed "an undue burden
…might be confronted at trial. Deciding such legal issues is a core responsibility of appellate courts and does not create an undue burden
United Bank receives a subpoena demanding production of every customer file from the past decade. Compliance would require reviewing millions of records at great expense. The court quashes the subpoena because it subjects the bank to undue burden.
Counsel must certify that each discovery request is neither unreasonable nor unduly burdensome or expensive after considering the needs of the case, prior discovery, amount in controversy, and importance of the issues.
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A court must quash or modify a subpoena that subjects a person to undue burden. The issuing party bears the duty to avoid imposing such burden, and sanctions may follow a failure to comply.
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