Discovery is an important and beneficial process in the course of a lawsuit. It involves each side requesting and receiving documents from the other pertaining to the case.
Discovery amounts to about 50% of all litigation costs, and upwards of “90% of the costs in the top 5% of the most expensive cases.” Nicola Faith Sharpe, CORPORATE COOPERATION THROUGH COST-SHARING, 16 Mich. Telecomm. Tech. L. Rev. 109, 110 (2009). With most communications and documents now online, the cost and sheer number of documents has increased substantially. Id.
Michigan’s rule governing discovery is M.C.R. 2.302 (West 2017), of the Michigan Court Rules of 1985. M.C.R. 2.302 states that discovery can begin in most cases after the commencement of the action. The scope of discovery under M.C.R. 2.302(B)(1) is as follows:
“Parties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action, whether it relates to the claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or to the claim or defense of another party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of books, documents, or other tangible things, or electronically stored information and the identity and location of persons having knowledge of a discoverable matter. It is not ground for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at trial if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”
Discovery also allows parties to obtain insurance agreements, certain trial preparation materials, information on experts, and certain electronically stored information, under M.C.R. 2.302.
Before commencing a lawsuit, it is important to analyze what documents are or are not discoverable, and whether those documents that are discoverable are going to harm or help your case. This is something an attorney can help analyze before filing the lawsuit.
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