Discovery Flashcards
in GDC - is there discovery?
in GDDC - there is no discovery as a general matter.
how can a party compel a witness’s attendance t trial?
A party can compel a witness attendance at trial through subpoena duces tecum, addressed to parties or nonparties
when must a party file request for subpoena (to compel witness attendance at trial)?
the party should file a request for subpoena at least 15 days before trial; after that - you must show good cause
what about discovery rules in Circuit Court?
the Circuit court rules generally mirror FEDERAL rules
what are some difference between discovery rules in CC vs. Federal?
(1) there are no required disclosures in VA
(2) timing - everything you get 30 days for in federal court - you get 21 DAYS for in state practice (i.e. 21 days to respond to interrogatories)
(3) maximum number of interrogatories that may be served without court permission, including subparts, is 30 (federal is 25)
(4) there is no rule limit on the number of DEPOSITIONS (in fed - can’ take more than 10 or depose someone twice w/o court permission)
(5) (like federal court) - request for PRODUCTion are NOT sent to non-parties; but you can get materials by using a subpoena duces tecum (requested in writing from the clerk of the court, with notice to all parties)
(5b) An attorney also can issue a subpoena or subpoena duces tecum as an officer of the court. She must file a copy of the subpoena with the court and serve a copy on all parties.
(6) DISCOVERY STANDARD –> the material must be relevant to the subject matter of the pending ACTION (in fed court - must be relevant to claim or defense).
6b) ‘relevant’ means “reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence” (in state courts - discovery is narrower in divorce, habeas corpus, and eminent domain cases)
(7) party who anticipates that her response to a discovery request will require her to produce electronically stored information (“ESI”) – PROPOSES DISCOVERY PROTOCOL FOR ESI. She does this within 21 days after being served with the request (28 if the request accompanied the complaint). If the other party does not agree to the protocol, the parties must make a good-faith effort to meet within 15 days to work it out.
)8) a party can seek discovery of the other side’s insurance coverage - even though it could not be admitted at trial (in fed court - this is part of required disclosure)
(9) in a case where P is seeking punitive damages, they can get information about the defendant’s net worth and gross earnings - as it is relevant, as we need to know how much money D has to punish them
(10) a party is able to respond to an interrogatory by referring the requesting party to documents in which the answers can be found - IF done in SUFFICIENT DETAIL
(11) In producing documents, they must be presented as kept in the usual course of business or organized and labeled to correspond with categories in the request.
what must a party do if they want to take a deposition of a party/non-party?
the party must usually get a court order to take a deposition WITHIN 21 days of filing the case;
**but this is ot true where the witnesses are about to leave the jurisdiction
what is “perpetuation of testimony”?
it allows the court to order depositions of eyewitnesses even though no suit has yet been filed
