August 01, 2023

Federal E-Discovery: In Rejecting Request for Discovery on Discovery, Court Creates New Framework

Practices & Industries

Litigation partners Chris Boehning and Dan Toal’s latest Federal E-Discovery column, “In Rejecting Request for Discovery on Discovery, Court Creates New Framework,” appeared in the August 1 issue of the New York Law Journal. The authors discuss a recent decision in the Northern District of Illinois that addressed discovery on discovery – discovery into the methods a party uses in its discovery processes. In LKQ v. Kia, after each party submitted electronically stored information (ESI) disclosures as ordered by the court, plaintiff sought a 30(b)(6) deposition of the defendant to further explore their discovery processes, alleging that the defendant’s document collection and subsequent ESI disclosure were deficient. After discussing the court’s authority on permitting discovery on discovery, the court then developed a framework for evaluating these requests, noting that discovery on discovery should be the exception, not the rule, specifying the burden of proof and defining the parameters of permissible discovery in these circumstances. Deputy chair and counsel, e-discovery, Ross Gotler and e-discovery attorney Lidia Kekis assisted in the preparation of this article.

» read the article