Abstracts » Law

Discovery; amending the rules

Article Abstract:

The proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Evidence have had little publicity and thus little reaction from members of the legal profession, but will profoundly affect the way attorneys practice. Topics covered by the amendments include the mandatory initial disclosure of witnesses and key documents, requiring a party to identify only witnesses and documents supporting the disclosing party's own position, and limiting depositions, absent court order, to a single day of seven hours.

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Discovery; fight the compensation to compel

Article Abstract:

Trial lawyers should never discover to harass the opposing party but only to find out the facts needed to win the case and to learn enough about that party's plans to ensure a win at trial. Abusive litigators use the motion to compel process as a safe harbor. Federal Rule of Evidence 37(a)(3) states that an evasive or incomplete disclosure or answer is the same as failure to answer and can thus have consequences, whether or not the failure is addressed by a motion to compel.

Analysis, Discovery abuse, Discovery abuse (Law)

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Discovery; the utility of RFAs

Article Abstract:

The potential utility of requests for admission (RFAs) has increased as that of other discovery weapons has gone down. RFAs are thought of as discovery because they are grouped in Federal Rule 36, a section devoted to depositions and discovery. A number of courts have, however, observed that RFAs are, like a pretrial order, a device to narrow issues and eliminate disputes. If RFAs are not discovery, they are not subject to discovery cutoff dates.

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