Friday, March 20, 2009

Out-of-Control Discovery

A joint report by two legal organizations says that out-of-control discovery in civil cases can be so expensive that it prevents parties from litigating legitimate disputes.

Prepared by the American College of Trial Lawyers task force and the Denver-based Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, it calls for discovery rules to be revised to comport with the age of e-mail and computerized documents, reports the Associated Press.

In addition to limiting discovery, the state and federal court systems should also assign a single judge to handle each case from start to finish and give judges the power to order mediation, when appropriate, the report recommends.

Source:
Curb Out-of-Control Discovery, Report by Trial Lawyers Group Recommends

The report:
THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TRIAL LAWYERS TASK FORCE ON DISCOVERY

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a double edged sword. Discovery can be out of control, but that's the lawyer's fault. And they should be disciplined.

Rules to limit discovery could harm a case. We don't want that either.

Mediation is the key -- if used properly, mediation would save people thousands of dollars.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous is right. I've seen judges limit discovery again pro-se litigants, but not lawyers.

Truly, discovery expense can make litigation almost impossible to carry on - unless you use paper discovery.

When people don't know the procedural rules, they haven't got a prayer!

You simply cannot trust most lawyers - and judges - these days!

Anonymous said...

Some parties intentionally overwhelm the opposing party for the purposes of attorney billing which would negatively affect the attorney's client, possibly forcing caving in or bailing out of the litigation.

Many cases die on the vine for a host of reasons including ongoing legal fees as the case drags through the process.

Unfortunately, I, the plaintiff, went through mediation at the judge's request, the defendant would not budge, not one inch, all of the time, effort, travel and expenses got us nowhere until the day of jury trial when the defendant caved in and settled meeting our terms.

Anonymous said...

Discovery is an important tool if used with proper intent.

I agree with Wiser, it's often used to overwhelm the opponent (as well as run up attorney fees).

So, it's telling us once again that lawyers must be monitored.

Anonymous said...

Discovery is one of many things out of control in the legal system because there is no accountability.

It falls back to the State Bar ignoring complaints and protecting attorneys rather than sitting on them.

Anonymous said...

"Hell hole of litigation" quote from my lawyer. He was correct.

Anonymous said...

I can tell you there are some lawyers who are miles above the rest.

Our lawyer et al is a shining star, high moral compass, who put the victim above all else including attorney billing in order to obtain justice.

He is in our prayers every night.