Delaware Revises Its Default Standard for Discovery, Including e-Discovery
On December 8, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware adopted a new Default Standard for Discovery, Including Discovery of Electronically Stored Information (ESI). This new standard announces the expectation that parties reach cooperative agreements regarding discovery, but applies limited default standards in the absence of such an agreement or court order. The standard also recognizes the importance and need for proportionality. The new provisions address the preservation of discoverable information, privilege logs, initial discovery conferences, initial disclosures, and e-discovery. In addition, the provisions specifically address initial discovery in patent litigation. According to the New York Law Journal, “the focus on forcing lawyers to address e-discovery issues early on should assist in shifting litigation back to being about the issues and not the discovery.”
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