Local Rule LR Civ P 5.01: Discovery

LR Civ P 5.01. Discovery.

(a) Discovery Not Filed; Certificate of Service Filed: Parties shall not file in CM/ECF any disclosures pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1), (2) and (3); depositions upon oral examination or written questions and any notice thereof; notices of receipt of depositions; interrogatories; requests pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 34; requests for admissions or answers and responses thereto; or any other discovery materials, unless expressly ordered by the Court or required under these Local Rules of Civil Procedure. Parties shall file only certificates of service of discovery materials.

(b) Custodial Responsibility: Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered, the party taking a deposition or obtaining any material through discovery is responsible for its custody, preservation and delivery to the Court if needed or ordered. This responsibility shall not terminate upon dismissal of any party while the action is still pending in the district or appellate courts. The custodial responsibility of the dismissed party may be discharged by stipulation of the parties to transfer the custody of the discovered material to one or more of the remaining parties. If for any reason a party or concerned citizen believes that any of the named documents should be filed, that party or citizen may request, ex parte, that the document be filed, stating the reasons therefor. The Court may also order filing sua sponte. A party seeking relief under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(c) or 37 shall file copies of the relevant portions of the disputed documents with any motion. If the moving or nonmoving party relies on discovery documents during proceedings concerning a motion under Fed. R. Civ. P. 56, that party shall file copies of the pertinent portions of any such documents together with the motion or brief in opposition.

(c) Electronic Service of Discovery: Parties may serve documentary discovery matters in electronic format—rather than traditionally via paper—on all non-pro se parties. Parties may convert the matters to PDF format and email them to all non-pro se parties. Service by electronic means constitutes service of the discovery materials and has the same legal force and effect as if served in paper. If the recipient counsel's email system rejects the mailing of documentary discovery, the sender may serve such documents, by agreement of the parties after confirming that the recipient has the appropriate technology available, through the regular mail by CD-ROM, DVD or other removable media, or the sender may post the PDF files to a secured extranet site for downloading.

(d) Pro Se Parties: Because pro se parties are not electronic filers, parties must serve pro se parties traditionally with paper. This Rule applies to all documentary discovery, including but not limited to depositions upon oral examination or written questions and any notice thereof; notices of receipt of depositions; interrogatories; requests pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 34; requests for admissions and answers and responses thereto; and any other discovery material that can be scanned or otherwise converted into PDF format. Consistent with LR Civ P 5.01(a), counsel must file certificates of service of all discovery materials filed electronically, specifying the method used to serve the discovery materials.