Responses to Requests for Production

 United States District Court
 Central District of California

Method of Service and Time for Responses

Unless by mutual agreement, the inspection may not be scheduled for a time sooner than 30 days after the request is served, if personally served, and not sooner than 33 days after service by mail. FRCP 34(b)(2)(A)(amended 12/01/07); FRCP 6(d).

Calculating the Due Date or Deadline

RULE AMENDED EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 1, 2009

Under amended FRCP 6(a)(1), all deadlines stated in days, no matter the length of the period, are computed in the same way. The day of the event that triggers the deadline is not counted. All other days - including intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays - are counted, with only one exception: If the period ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, then the deadline falls on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. FRCP 6(a)(1)(amended eff 12/1/09). In determining what is the "next" day, one must continue counting in the same direction - that is, forward when computing a forward-looking period and backward when computing a backward-looking period. FRCP 6(a)(5)(amended eff 12/1/09).

After Rule 26 Meeting

A party may not seek discovery from any source before the parties have conferred as required by Rule 26(f), except in a proceeding exempted from initial disclosure under Rule 26(a)(1)(B), or when authorized by these rules, by stipulation, or by court order.FRCP 26(d)(1).

Sequence

Unless, on motion, the court orders otherwise for the parties and witnesses convenience and in the interests of justice:

(A) methods of discovery may be used in any sequence; and

(B) discovery by one party does not require any other party to delay its discovery. FRCP 26(d)(2).

Extension of Time To Respond

The time to respond may be shortened or extended as directed by the court, or agreed to in writing by the parties. FRCP 34(b)(2)(A).

Discovery Stipulations

Unless the court orders otherwise, the parties may stipulate that procedures governing or limiting discovery be modified -- but a stipulation extending the time for any form of discovery must have court approval if it would interfere with the time set for completing discovery, for hearing a motion, or for trial. FRCP 29 .

Discovery Cut-Off

The court must set a discovery cut-off date. FRCP 16(b)(3)(A).

Responses

For each item or category, the response must either state that inspection and related activities wil more...

Responding to a Request for Production of Electronically Stored Information

The response may state an objection to a requested form for producing electronically stored informat more...

Failure To Timely Respond Waives Objections

Case law authority holds that failure to timely respond to a request for production waives all objec more...

Objections

An objection to part of a request must specify the part and permit inspection of the rest. . more...

Objections may include: more...

1. Relevancy (the request seeks information that is outside the scope of permissible discovery); more...

2. Privilege (the request seeks information that is protected by the attorney-client, work product, more...

3. Privacy (the request seeks information that is protected by an individual's right of privacy); more...

4. Unduly burdensome and oppressive (the cost and time necessary to comply with the request are unfa more...

5. That the request does not describe the documents or other items sought with reasonable particular more...

"Items" That Can Be Included in Request

A Rule 34 request can include a request to produce and permit the requesting party or its representa more...

Any designated documents or electronically stored information including writings, drawings, graphs, more...

Any designated tangible things; or more...

To permit entry onto designated land or other property possessed or controlled by the responding par more...

Scope of Discovery

Unless otherwise limited by court order, the scope of discovery is as follows: Parties may obtain di more...

Limitations -- In General

By order, the court may alter the limits in these rules on the number of depositions and interrogato more...

Limitations on Electronically Stored Information

A party need not provide discovery of electronically stored information from sources that the party more...

Factors to be Considered by the Court

On motion or on its own, the court must limit the frequency or extent of discovery otherwise allowed more...

(i) the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or can be obtained from some oth more...

(ii) the party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity to obtain the information by discovery in more...

(iii) the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit, considering the more...

Trial Preparation -- Materials

Documents and Tangible Things

Ordinarily, a party may not discover documents and tangible things that are prepared in anticipation more...

(i) they are otherwise discoverable under Rule 26(b)(1); and more...

(ii) the party shows that it has substantial need for the materials to prepare its case and cannot, more...

Protection Against Disclosure

If the court orders discovery of those materials, it must protect against disclosure of the mental i more...

Previous Statement

Any party or other person may, on request and without the required showing, obtain the persons own p more...

(i) a written statement that the person has signed or otherwise adopted or approved; or more...

(ii) a contemporaneous stenographic, mechanical, electrical, or other recording or a transcription o more...

Trial Preparation -- Experts

Expert Who May Testify

A party may depose any person who has been identified as an expert whose opinions may be presented a more...

Expert Employed Only for Trial Preparation

Ordinarily, a party may not, by interrogatories or deposition, discover facts known or opinions held more...

(i) as provided in Rule 35(b); or more...

(ii) on showing exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the party to obtain fa more...

Payment

Unless manifest injustice would result, the court must require that the party seeking discovery: more...

(i) pay the expert a reasonable fee for time spent in responding to discovery under Rule 26(b)(4)(A) more...

(ii) for discovery under (B), also pay the other party a fair portion of the fees and expenses it re more...

Trial Preparation -- Claiming Privilege

Information Withheld

When a party withholds information otherwise discoverable by claiming that the information is privil more...

(i) expressly make the claim; and more...

(ii) describe the nature of the documents, communications, or tangible things not produced or disclo more...

Information Produced

If information produced in discovery is subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as trial pr more...

The Duty to Preserve

The extent of the duty to preserve electronically stored information is the subject of a fast develo more...

Good Faith Loss of Electronically Stored Information

Absent exceptional circumstances, a court may not impose sanctions under the Rules on a party for fa more...

Claiming Post Production Privilege

If information is produced in discovery that is subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as more...

Duty to Supplement

A party who has made a disclosure under Rule 26(a) or who has responded to an interrogatory, request more...

(A) in a timely manner if the party learns that in some material respect the disclosure or response more...

(B) as ordered by the court. . more...

Quote Text of Request for Production

The party responding or objecting to requests for production shall quote each request for production more...

First Paragraph

Customarily, responses to requests for production identify in the first paragraph the propounding pa more...

Signature on Discovery Documents

Required

Every disclosure under Rule 26(a)(1) or (a)(3) and every discovery request, response, or objection m more...

Certification

By signing, an attorney or party certifies that to the best of the persons knowledge, information, a more...

(A) with respect to a disclosure, it is complete and correct as of the time it is made; and more...

(B) with respect to a discovery request, response, or objection, it is: more...

(i) consistent with these rules and warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for exte more...

(ii) not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needles more...

(iii) neither unreasonable nor unduly burdensome or expensive, considering the needs of the case, pr more...

Failure to Sign

Other parties have no duty to act on an unsigned disclosure, request, response, or objection until i more...

Sanction for Improper Certification

If a certification violates this rule without substantial justification, the court, on motion or on more...

Filing

Do Not File Discovery Materials

The following discovery requests and responses must not be filed until they are used in the proceedi more...

File Only Relevant Discovery Information

When a discovery request or response is required for use in a proceeding, only that part of the docu more...

All such discovery documents shall be held by the attorney pending use for the period specified in L more...

Service

Responses must be served on all parties who have appeared in the action. . more...

Method of Service and Time for Responses

Unless by mutual agreement, the inspection may not be scheduled for a time sooner than 30 days after more...

Calculating the Due Date or Deadline

more...

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