Discovery
Scope and Framework
Rule 26(b)(1) permits discovery of any nonprivileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case. The 2015 amendment removed the reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence language.
Information need not be admissible to be discoverable.
Alternative Names:
Discovery Scope, Permissible Discovery
Why it Matters?
The 2015 amendment moved proportionality into the scope definition rather than leaving it as a separate limitation, which changed the framing of every discovery dispute. Requests must now be justified against the proportionality factors rather than merely shown to be conceivably relevant. The removal of the reasonably calculated language also eliminated a phrase courts had criticized as swallowing the relevance requirement entirely.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What did the 2015 amendment change?
Must discoverable information be admissible?
