Local Rule 116.3: DISCOVERY MOTION PRACTICE

RULE 116.3 DISCOVERY MOTION PRACTICE

(a) Letter Request for Discovery. Within 14 days of the completion of automatic discovery, any party by letter to the opposing party may request additional discovery. The opposing party shall reply in writing to the requests contained in such letter, no later than 14 days after its receipt, stating whether that party agrees or does not agree to furnish the requested discovery and, if that party agrees, when the party will furnish the requested discovery. A copy of the discovery request letter and any response must also be filed with the clerk's office.

(b) Agreement to Provide Discovery. If a party agrees in writing to provide the requested discovery, the agreement shall be enforceable to the same extent as a court order requiring the agreed-upon disclosure.

(c) Explanation for Lack of Agreement. If a party does not agree to provide the requested information, that party must provide a written statement of the basis for its position.

(d) No Need to Request Automatic Discovery. A defendant participating in automatic discovery should not request information expressly required to be produced under L.R. 116.1, because all such information is required to be produced automatically in any event.

(e) No Motion before Response to Request. Except in an emergency, no discovery motion, or request for a bill of particulars, shall be filed until the opposing party has declined in writing to provide the requested discovery or has failed to respond in writing within 14 days of receipt of a written discovery request.

(f) No Motion before Conference with Opponent. Except in an emergency, no discovery motion, or request for a bill of particulars, shall be filed before, the moving party has conferred, or attempted in good faith to confer, with opposing counsel to attempt to eliminate or narrow the areas of disagreement. In the motion or request, the moving party shall certify that a good faith attempt was made to eliminate or narrow the issues raised in the motion through a conference with opposing counsel or that a good faith attempt to comply with the requirement was precluded by the opposing party's unwillingness or inability to confer.

(g) Timing of Motion. Any discovery motion shall be filed within 14 days of receipt of the opposing party's written reply to the letter requesting discovery described in subsection (a) or within 14 days of the passage of the period within which the opposing party has the obligation to reply pursuant to subsection (a). The discovery motion shall state with particularity each request for discovery, followed by a concise statement of the moving party's position with respect to such request, including citations of authority.

(h) Multi-Defendant Cases. In multi-defendant cases, except with leave of court, the defendant parties must confer and, to the maximum extent possible in view of any potentially differing positions of the defendants, consolidate their written requests to the government for any discovery. If a discovery motion is to be filed, the defendant parties must endeavor to the maximum extent possible to file a single consolidated motion. Each defendant need not join in every written request submitted to the government or filed in a consolidated motion, but all defense requests and motions, whether or not joined in by each defendant must to the maximum extent possible be contained within a single document or filing.

(i) Timing of Response to Motions. The opposing party must file its response to all discovery motions within 14 days of receipt. In its response, the opposing party, as to each request, shall make a concise statement of the opposing party's basis for opposing that request, including citations to authority.

(j) Subsequent Requests. The procedure set forth in this rule shall apply to any subsequent requests for discovery. When filing a discovery motion that is based on a subsequent discovery request, the moving party must additionally certify that the discovery request resulting in the motion was prompted by information not known, or issues not reasonably foreseeable, to the moving party before the deadline for discovery motions, or that the delay in making the request was for other good cause, which the moving party must describe with particularity.

Adopted September 8, 1998; effective December 1, 1998; amended effective February 1, 2012.