Guidelines for Discovery Disputes
1. The moving party should, in its letter brief, clearly state the relief it is seeking as to each
dispute.
2. The moving party should attach a proposed order to its letter brief as an exhibit. In that
proposed order, the moving party should also clearly set out the nature of the requested
relief as to each dispute.
3. With regard to other types of exhibits the parties attach to their letter briefs, the parties
should highlight in yellow those portions of the exhibits that are particularly important
and that they want the Court to focus on.
4. If a party is attaching an exhibit to its letter brief, and the exhibit is large (i.e., more than
20 pages), the party should simply include the cover page/first page of the exhibit and
then only those other portions of the exhibit that are relevant to the discovery dispute.
So, for example, if a party is attaching as an exhibit a 100-page expert report, but only 10
pages of the report are truly relevant to the dispute, then the party should only include the
cover page and the 10 relevant pages of the report.
5. If the discovery dispute relates to certain discovery requests (e.g., interrogatories or
requests for production of documents), then the moving party should attach those
discovery requests and any relevant responses as exhibits to its letter brief. The
responding party should include as exhibits to its letter brief any discovery requests
and/or responses that it believes are relevant and that the moving party did not already
submit.
6. If the date when a certain discovery request/report was filed/served is relevant to the
dispute, and if a party is attaching that request/report as an exhibit to its letter brief, then
the party should also include the page of the exhibit that indicates on what date the
request/report was filed/served.
7. If the discovery dispute involves disputed, material factual issues (e.g., whether obtaining
certain discovery would be unduly costly or burdensome), then the party with the burden
should strongly consider attaching as an exhibit to its letter brief a sworn declaration or
affidavit regarding that disputed issue.
