Judicial Survey Questions

DLC Q14: Given the new requirement under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) regarding the proportionality of the scope of discovery, what, if any inquiry do you make about this issue at the initial scheduling conference?

DLC A14: I don't make a specific inquiry per se because counsel usually have not exchanged discovery, let alone written discovery requests, by the time of the initial scheduling conference, and true concerns about proportionality usually do not arise until later in the case. That being said, I ask each party at the conference to comment on the both the scope and type of discovery they preliminarily intend to seek, so that counsel can begin to think about the issue.

Related Topics:
* Cabell, Donald L.

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts