During federal discovery, Defendant accidentally produces one privileged attorney-client email among 40,000 reviewed documents. Defendant had used keyword screening and attorney review before production, discovered the e...
Citations: Fed. R. Evid. 502(b)
...t in federal court wants to file a summary-judgment motion after fact discovery closes. No local rule or scheduling order sets a different deadline. Which statement best describes Rule 56's default timing rule? The defau...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(b), Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(d)
After a full discovery period, a defendant in a federal toxic-exposure case moved for summary judgment. The defendant cited the plaintiff's discovery responses showing no expert witness, no medical causation opinion, and...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c), Celotex Corp. v. Catrett
After discovery in a federal breach-of-contract action, both parties move for summary judgment. The record contains signed contracts, emails, deposition excerpts, and competing declarations about whether delivery was acc...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a)
...federal antidiscrimination claim and a state-law defamation claim. A discovery dispute turns on whether a communication is privileged. Which statement best describes the Rule 501 framework? The correct answer applies Fe...
Citations: Fed. R. Evid. 501
During a federal deposition, plaintiff's counsel asked the defendant's employee about a nonprivileged meeting with a supervisor. Defense counsel objected that the question was irrelevant and instructed the witness not...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(c), Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(d), Fed. R. Civ. P. 37
In a federal antitrust case, the plaintiff served 40 interrogatories on the defendant. Several interrogatories asked the defendant to identify facts supporting its affirmative defenses. Others asked for sales figures...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 33
...letion of internal chat messages after 30 days. After suit was filed, discovery showed that engineers had discussed the consumer's fire and similar battery failures in chat channels during the month after the demand lett...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f), Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e)
...y protection by producing the email. How should the court resolve the discovery dispute? Discuss attorney-client privilege, ordinary and opinion work product, substantial need and undue hardship, and the consequen...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(3), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5), Fed. R. Evid. 502, Hickman v. Taylor, Upjohn Co. v. United States
...r moves to compel. The employer moves for a protective order limiting discovery to the manager's region, a three-year period, a...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c), Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(b)
A patent case is pending in federal court in State A. The plaintiff served a subpoena on a nonparty supplier headquartered in State B, seeking emails and design drawings. The subpoena commanded production at plaintiff...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 45
A plaintiff in federal court alleges that a fall at the defendant's store caused permanent back injuries and seeks future medical expenses. The defendant wants an orthopedic surgeon to examine the plaintiff. The plain...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 35
A plaintiff sent a preservation letter to a defendant after a workplace accident. The defendant did not suspend automatic deletion of safety-camera metadata. The video itself was preserved, but metadata showing who ac...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(e)
A plaintiff served Rule 34 requests for emails, spreadsheets, and inspection of a machine involved in an accident. The defendant responded to several requests by stating only, "Objection, overbroad and burdensome," an...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 34
...ourt most likely rule? The best answer is the tailored order. Federal discovery is broad, but it is bounded by relevance, proportionality, privilege, and specific objections. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5), Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(2)
A restaurant customer sued a national restaurant chain in federal court after slipping on a wet floor. She seeks damages for a fractured ankle, continuing inability to work, anxiety attacks triggered by the fall, and...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 35, Fed. R. Civ. P. 45
A software company sued a former engineer in federal court for misappropriation of trade secrets. The company noticed 14 oral depositions without seeking leave of court. At the engineer's deposition, company counsel q...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 30, Fed. R. Civ. P. 33, Fed. R. Civ. P. 37
...vestigator obtained a signed factual statement from the guard. Before discovery began, the guard suffered a severe stroke and can no longer testify reliably. The plaintiff requests the signed statement. Which statement b...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(3), Hickman v. Taylor
...and that it will disclose information only after the plaintiff serves discovery requests. Which statement is most accurate? Initial disclosures are designed to occur early and without awaiting a discovery request. A part...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(e), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f)
In a federal securities suit, corporate counsel interviewed lower-level accounting employees after management discovered possible revenue-recognition errors. Counsel told the employees the interviews were confidential...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(5), Upjohn Co. v. United States
...mitations, release, waiver, or arbitration. Three months later, after discovery confirmed a prior settlement agreement, the author moved to amend the answer to add release and arbitration as defenses. The publisher moved...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b), Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(c), Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f), Fed. R. Civ. P. 15
...es from a cleaning solvent caused permanent lung injury. After a full discovery period, the manufacturer moved for summary judgment. The manufacturer did not offer its own medical expert. Instead, it cited the worker's i...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a), Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c), Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(e), Celotex Corp. v. Catrett
...a notice of appeal in the district court and stopped participating in discovery, arguing that certification automatically transferred the issue to the court of appeals and stayed the case. Was the defendant's procedure c...
Citations: 28 U.S.C. 1292(b), Fed. R. App. P. 5
...nd inspection videos that are needed to oppose the motion and that no discovery responses have been produced yet. Which statement best describes the court's authority? Rule 56(d) protects a party from premature summary j...
Citations: Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(d)
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