Guides and Forms: Discovery - Public Counsel

1 Public Counsel sGuides andForms:Discovery2015 EditionFederalPro SeClinicCENTRALDISTRICT OFCALIFORNIAWESTERNDIVISION 2014, 2015 Public Counsel . All rights Counsel sGUIDES AND Forms: DiscoveryPublic Counsel prepared these Guides ,Forms, and Samplesto providepro selitigants in federal court apractical and informative resource forunderstanding and engaging in the packet includes the following Guides ,Forms, and Samples: guide toDiscovery Basics guide toInitial Discovery Obligations guide toRequest for Production guide toRequest for Admissions guide toInterrogatories Sample Joint Rule 26(f)Report FormforPlaintiff sInitial Disclosures form for Defendant s Initial DisclosuresIf you havequestions or need assistance, please visit Public Counsel s FederalPro Courthouse312 N.

2 Spring StreetMain Street Floor,Room G-19 Los Angeles, CA 90012 The Clinic is open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:30 to 12 noon, and 2:00 to 4 to the Clinic are seen on a first-come, first-served Counsel sGuides and Forms: Discovery2015 EditionSection1 guide toDiscovery BasicsFederalPro SeClinicCENTRALDISTRICT OFCALIFORNIAWESTERNDIVISION 2014, 2015 Public Counsel . All rights :January2015 FederalPro SeClinic Courthouse 312 N. Spring Street Main Street Floor,Room G-19 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:30 to12 noon, and 2 :00 First come, first FEDERALPRO SECLINIC IS A PROJECTOF Public Counsel , ANON-PROFIT Public INTEREST LAW SeClinicCENTRALDISTRICT OFCALIFORNIA:WESTERNDIVISIONG uide to Discovery : Discovery Basics What is Discovery ?

3 Discovery isthe formal process of obtainingfacts,documents,and evidence in yourlawsuitin order to evaluate andprepare your general frameworkfor Discovery isprovided byFederal Rules of Civil Procedure16, 26-37, and , the Court s Local Rules and orders by the judge in yourcase may provide further guidance about obtain evidence by usingseveraltoolsofdiscovery, including interrogatories ,requestsfor production,requests for admissions,depositions, and subpoenas. This guidewill explain what discoverytoolsare availableto is Discovery Important?The Discovery process is one way you can gather the facts, documents, and evidenceto supportyour claims and defenses. For example, if you have filed an employment discrimination case, you mayneedemployment records or business agreements to prove your is the formal way ofobtaining those documents from anotherpartyor even from a person or entity that is not a party to Can Be Discovered?

4 Generally, you can use Discovery to obtain information that pertains to anyof the claims ordefensesin your lawsuit as long as the information is not legally protected under the attorney-clientprivilege or any other discoverable information, however, may be subjectto privacy concernsor special privileges and will require a protective order before following are examples offacts, documents, and evidence you may be able toobtain through Discovery : Business recordsrelated to the dispute in your case Names of parties and potential witnesses Government agency recordsWhat about informal Discovery ? Discovery is justone way of getting facts,documents, and evidence to support yourclaims and defenses. Don t forget toresearch your opponent on the internet,search publicly available documents, andtalk to people who are not parties to thelawsuit, but may have valuableinformation about your !

5 The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure impose several mandatory Discovery obligations on the Public Counsel s guide to Initial Discovery Obligations for more shouldregularly consultthe Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Local Rules of the Central District of California, and any relevantorders issued by the judge in your preparedby Public Counsel . 2014 Public Counsel . Allrights :January2015 FederalPro SeClinic Courthouse 312 N. Spring Street Main Street Floor,Room G-19 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:30 to12 noon, and 2 :00 First come, first FEDERALPRO SECLINIC IS A PROJECTOF Public Counsel , ANON-PROFIT Public INTEREST LAW Employment contracts Information about a business shiring and firing practices Information about the personal, educational, and professional background of a potentialwitness in your caseFromWhomCan You Obtain Discovery ?

6 The Discovery process can be used not only to obtain information and documents from otherparties to your lawsuit but also from people andentitiesnot involved in your case( non-parties ). Theprocess for obtaining documents and informationfrom parties and non-partiesdiffers. The chart belowillustrates these different kind of evidence areyou trying to obtain?What Discovery tool shouldyou use to obtain the evidencefrom aparty?What Discovery tool should youuse to obtain the evidence from anon-party?A written admissionRequest for AdmissionSee FRCP 36 Not availableA document or thingRequest for ProductionSee FRCP 34 Subpoena Duces TecumSee FRCP 30 and 45A written answer to a questionInterrogatorySee FRCP 33 Not availableOral testimony at a depositionDepositionSee FRCP 30 Deposition SubpoenaSee FRCP 30 and 45 When Does Discovery Begin?

7 The Discovery process begins onlyafteryou have held the conference of the parties with youropposing Counsel (or your unrepresented opponent(s)). Please see Public Counsel s guide to InitialDiscovery Obligations for an explanation of the conference of the parties required by Federal Rule ofCivil Procedure 26. Either the plaintiff or defendant can initiate this conference at any time after thedefendant responds to the complaint. However, we strongly recommend that you take the initiativeand schedule the conference of the Does Discovery End?The Court will likely impose a date for the end of Discovery . You may find this deadline in theCourt s standing order, schedulingorderor any other order related to your scheduling of these orders arenot necessarily related to Discovery , theymay discuss discoveryprocedures and cutoff deadlines that differ from the Local Rulesof the Central District of isimportant to read everything on your docket and your judges webpages so that you will know whetherany Discovery deadlines exist in your !

8 You have an ongoing duty to supplement or amend any of your discoveryresponsesor disclosures.(for example, in response to an Interrogatory, Request for Production, Request for Admission, or in an initialdisclosure) if you learn that the information you have already provided is incomplete or incorrect. See Federal Ruleof Civil Procedure 26(e) for more Counsel sGuides and Forms: Discovery2015 EditionSection2 guide toInitial Discovery ObligationsFederalPro SeClinicCENTRALDISTRICT OFCALIFORNIAWESTERNDIVISION 2014, 2015 Public Counsel . :January2015 FederalProSeClinic Courthouse 312 N. Spring Street Main Street Floor, Room G-19 Los Angeles, CA 90012 Open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:30 to 12 noon, and 2:00 to 4:00 First come, first FEDERALPROSECLINIC IS A PROJECTOF Public Counsel , ANON-PROFIT Public INTEREST LAW SeClinicCENTRALDISTRICT OFCALIFORNIA:WESTERNDIVISIONG uide to Discovery : Initial Discovery Obligations Duringthe Discovery period there areseveral steps you must totake to fulfill your discoveryobligations.

9 Although some of these steps are not actively supervised by the Court, you must still knowwhat Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Rulesof the Central District of Californiaapply to you andwhen you must take these steps. This guide will explain theseinitialdiscovery steps in the Scheduling Conference Date or Read the Scheduling OrderTo begin meeting your Discovery obligations, determine whena scheduling conference has been set inyour case or if theCourthas issued a scheduling order the Court has set a Scheduling Conference:The scheduling conference isa hearinginvolvingtheparties in a lawsuitand the judgeassignedtothecase. The scheduling conference usually occurs afterananswer or motion to dismiss hasbeen filed with the Court.

10 Ifthe Court setsa scheduling conference,itwill send you an orderwith the date and orderwillalsoappear asan entry on your case docket. SeeFederal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 for more the Court has issued a Scheduling Order:After the scheduling conference, the Court should issue a scheduling order. However,sometimes the Court will issuethe scheduling order without holding a scheduling theCourthas not held a scheduling conference within 120 days after the plaintiff hasservedany defendant with the complaint, youshould assume that youwill only receive a schedulingorderfrom the judge and proceed with the conference of the parties and the filing of your JointDiscovery Plan (most commonly referred to as a Joint 26(f) Report ) as noted the Conference of the PartiesFederal Rule of Civil Procedure 26requiresall parties that have appeared in the caseto hold a conferenceof the parties to discuss and initiate the Discovery meeting can be held over the phone or cannot ask for Discovery from the other partyuntilyou have completed this that you take the initiative and call your opposing Counsel or unrepresented party toschedule Rule 26-1 and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26 specify the topics theparties must discuss atthe conference of the parties.