Pleadings and Motions
Discovery Motions
Rule 37 provides for compelling disclosure or discovery, and for sanctions ranging from fees to evidence preclusion, adverse inference, and dismissal or default. Rule 37(e) addresses lost electronically stored information specifically.
Fee shifting is presumptive on a successful motion to compel.
Alternative Names:
Discovery Sanctions Motion, Rule 37 Sanctions
Why it Matters?
The presumptive fee award on a granted motion to compel is underused, since the rule requires payment of the movant's expenses unless the position was substantially justified. Requesting fees as part of the motion rather than separately afterward is the practical approach. For spoliation, Rule 37(e) limits the most severe sanctions to cases where the party acted with intent to deprive, which is a meaningful protection against negligence-based adverse inferences.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
Are fees available on a motion to compel?
What does Rule 37(e) require for severe sanctions?
