Avenues of Discovery

The avenues of discovery that are allowable in a civil case aren't all that complex, but the topic is very nuanced and fact intensive. Each type has some specifics tested on the exam. With that, let's examine each type:

Depositions:

Questions in a deposition can be oral or written. The deponent testifies under oath, and the deposition is recorded. Unlike with some other areas of discovery, both parties and nonparties may be deposed. A party, unlike a nonparty, need not be served with a subpoena; a notice of deposition is sufficient to compel the party's appearance. A nonparty must be served with a subpoena or be compelled to attend. If a party does not adequately compel a nonparty to attend the deposition, and the nonparty fails to attend, the party may be liable for costs. You might come across a term called a subpoena duces tecum. That is simply a subpoena requiring the deponent to bring requested materials along to the deposition. 

There are limits to the number of miles that a nonparty will be required to travel to a deposition. Unless agreed otherwise, a nonparty cannot be required to travel more than 100 miles from where the nonparty resides or is employed. A party cannot take more than 10 depositions or depose the same person twice without court approval or stipulation. Depositions cannot exceed one day of 7 hours unless the court orders or the parties stipulate otherwise. 

Depositions serve multiple purposes. Depositions may be used at trial to impeach the deponent and they may be used for any purpose if the deponent is an adverse party. They also may be used for any purpose if the deponent (party or nonparty) is unavailable for trial unless the absence of the party or nonparty was procured by the party seeking to introduce the deposition testimony at trial. 

Interrogatories: 

Interrogatories are written questions answered under oath. Unlike with depositions, interrogatories are sent only to parties. The maximum number of interrogatories is 25 and they must be answered within 30 days from when they are served. A party must answer each interrogatory based upon information reasonably available, and if the answers can be found in business records, the responding party can allow the requesting party to have access to those records, provided that the burden of finding the answer would be about the same for either party. 

Requests to Produce:

A request to produce is as it sounds: it asks a party (not a nonparty) to produce or make available for review and copying documents or things (including if electronically stored) or to permit the requesting party to enter a designated property to inspect, measure, etc. If electronically stored, the information must be produced in the form that the requesting party specifies. That said, the party responding to the request can object. 

The party disclosing the information to the requesting party must respond to the request within 30 days of service, stating that the material will be produced or objecting to its production. Note that although only parties may be served with a request to produce, a nonparty may be served a subpoena for the same purpose. 

Medical Exam (Physical/Mental):

To obtain a medical exam compelling a party (or a person in the party's custody or control) to submit to a medical exam requires a court order. The requesting party must show that the person's health is in actual controversy and that there is good cause for the request. The requesting party chooses the medical professional to conduct the exam. Once there has been a medical exam, the medical professional writes up a report and gives the report to the requesting party. The person undergoing the exam is also entitled to a copy of the report. The party requesting the report must on request produce all medical reports by that party's own doctors about the same medical conditions. Doctor-patient privilege is not an excuse for not producing such reports. 

Request for Admission:

A request for admission is a written request that someone admit certain matters. The responding party must respond in writing within 30 days of service of the request either admitting, denying specifically, or objecting. The responding party may also claim that although a reasonable inquiry to obtain the matter was conducted, that party cannot find enough information from which to admit or deny. A lack of a specific denial will be deemed admitted.

Overarching Principle:

There's an overarching principle to all of the above that is important to keep in mind. If new facts come to light after responding to any discovery request and those facts render the prior disclosure incomplete or incorrect, the responding party must supplement the response to include this new information.