Legal Definitions - discovery abuse

Discovery abuse refers to the improper use or deliberate misuse of the legal process where parties exchange information and evidence before a trial. It occurs when a party either makes excessive, irrelevant, or harassing requests for information, or when a party fails to provide necessary information honestly and completely in response to legitimate requests. The goal of discovery is to ensure a fair trial by allowing both sides to understand the facts and evidence; discovery abuse undermines this fundamental principle.

Here are some examples of discovery abuse:

• Example 1: Overly Broad Requests

  In a lawsuit where a small business is suing a former employee for stealing client contacts, the former employee's lawyer demands access to *all* of the business's financial records, tax returns, and employee performance reviews from the past decade, claiming they might be "relevant." However, the lawsuit specifically concerns the theft of client information that occurred within the last year, and most of the requested documents have no direct bearing on that specific issue.

  This illustrates discovery abuse because the former employee's requests are excessively broad and seek information far beyond what is reasonably necessary or relevant to the specific claims in the lawsuit. Such requests can be used to overwhelm the opposing party, increase their legal costs, or fish for unrelated information.

• Example 2: Withholding or Inadequate Responses

  During a product liability case, the plaintiff's lawyers request all internal safety reports and customer complaints related to a specific product model from the manufacturer. The manufacturer, however, only provides a handful of reports that show no issues, deliberately omitting numerous other reports detailing serious defects and multiple customer complaints that were internally flagged as high-risk.

  This demonstrates discovery abuse because the manufacturer is failing to respond adequately and honestly to proper discovery requests. By intentionally withholding crucial, relevant information, they are obstructing the plaintiff's ability to build their case and preventing a fair assessment of the facts.

• Example 3: Discovery for Harassment or Delay

  In a contentious divorce case, one spouse repeatedly sends dozens of highly detailed and intrusive requests for information about the other spouse's personal spending habits from years before their marriage, their current dating life, and the financial details of their new partner's family, none of which are relevant to the division of marital assets or child custody. These requests are sent frequently, often just before deadlines, requiring significant time and expense to respond.

  This is an example of discovery abuse because the requests are not made for a legitimate purpose related to the legal issues at hand. Instead, they appear designed to harass, intimidate, or financially burden the opposing party, or to intentionally delay the proceedings, rather than to uncover relevant evidence.