An essential part of any case is the discovery response. During the discovery phase, the parties exchange information to prove their case. More importantly, the plaintiff must hold the defendant accountable for their actions or inactions. Obtaining discovery allows this process to take place.
However, how do you know whether the defendant is providing complete discovery? And how do you know you’re getting “good” discovery? A trial lawyer like Brandon Salumbides at Kramer Trial Lawyers follows three key steps when reviewing discovery responses.
Know the Code of Civil Procedure
The Code of Civil Procedure tells lawyers and judges how to handle different procedures, including the discovery procedure. It determines deadlines for the discovery process and other case and court matters.
Your attorney must know the Code of Civil Procedure and how it pertains to discovery response. This is the roadmap for the discovery process and lets you know whether you are getting the information you are entitled to. It also tells you if you are entitled to further responses and when to take further action to compel discovery.
Meet and Confer
Once the attorney receives the discovery from the defendant, he must go through all the documents and responses. The attorney then picks out discovery responses, whether documents or answers to interrogatories, that are insufficient. The attorney puts the poor requests into a letter and requests further discovery from the defense. The attorney may include relevant portions of the Code of Civil Procedure showing why he is entitled to further responses.
A plaintiff’s attorney keeps the pressure on the defense to ensure he has all the discovery responses he needs to represent your interests appropriately.
Filing Court Motions
If the defense is still not cooperating, the plaintiff’s attorney can file court motions to compel adequate discovery responses. The defense may argue that it doesn’t have that discovery response – if it’s a document, the defense might use the “a third party has control of the document, and I can’t get it by the discovery due date or at all” argument. The defense may argue that a discovery response is not warranted or that the defendant does not have such information. If the plaintiff’s attorney knows the document exists, he can draft a Motion to Compel.
In some cases, the motion makes it to court, while in others, the defense doesn’t want to spend the money and either come up with the response or document or works something out with the plaintiff’s attorney to extend the discovery response due date.
And in other cases, when the defense still does not cooperate, the plaintiff’s attorney can subpoena the information from the defense or a third party.
Contact a Trial Lawyer at Kramer Trial Lawyers
If your attorney follows these three steps, you will have a complete discovery process. You will also know that your attorney doesn’t allow the defense to push him around and that he will hold the defendant responsible. This means that your attorney is looking out for your rights so that you can recover the compensation you deserve.
If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one because of another’s actions or inactions, or you have an issue with your employer, contact Kramer Trial Lawyers today for a case evaluation.