Discovery deadlines require that discovery be completed by the stated date in most jurisdictions, meaning responses are due and depositions taken by then rather than requests merely served.
Courts differ on whether the cutoff applies to service or completion.
Alternative Names:
Discovery Cutoff, Fact Discovery Deadline
Why it Matters?
The completion versus service distinction is where practitioners get caught, because written discovery served thirty days before a completion deadline produces responses due after it. Working backward from the cutoff by the response period plus a margin is the necessary practice. Expert discovery frequently has a separate later deadline, and confirming which cutoff governs each category avoids serving expert discovery against the fact deadline.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Does the deadline govern service or completion?
Is expert discovery covered by the same deadline?
