Generally, there are procedural mechanisms in place to ensure that all relevant information, not subject to a legitimate legal privilege, is discoverable during litigation. These procedures vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but they are often very similar.
In Florida, the rules of civil procedure allow parties to conduct discovery using interrogatories, requests for admission and requests to produce, inter alia. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280(a). If a party fails to answer a discovery request, the party seeking the discovery can bring what is called a motion for an order compelling discovery. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.380(a)(2). If granted, there will be a court order directing the failing party to comply with the discovery requests that were not answered, and future violations can form the basis of a contempt or sanctions proceeding. Importantly, parties cannot use incomplete or evasive answers to avoid answering discovery requests. Under Florida law, any evasive or incomplete answer “shall be treated as a failure to answer.” Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.380(a)(3).
As an added incentive for parties to be forthcoming initially, if a motion to compel is granted, the party causing the motion to compel to be necessary must often pay monetary sanctions. In Florida, these monetary sanctions, by rule, encompass the reasonable expenses in bringing the motion, including attorney fees. Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.280(a)(4). If a party attempts to avoid properly disclosing information during discovery, it can be a costly decision.