Discovery
Scope and Framework
Discovery allows parties to obtain the information needed to evaluate and try a case through interrogatories, document requests, requests for admission, depositions, subpoenas, and physical or mental examinations.
Its scope covers non-privileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case. Information need not be admissible at trial to be discoverable.
Alternative Names:
Pretrial Discovery, Civil Discovery
Why it Matters?
Discovery consumes the majority of litigation cost and is where most cases are effectively decided, since summary judgment and settlement both rest on the record it produces. Scope discipline matters in both directions: overbroad requests generate expense without value, while narrow requests leave a defense untested. The proportionality standard added in 2015 gives defendants a genuine tool, but only where burden is documented rather than asserted.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Is everything discoverable?
Does discoverable mean admissible?
