Legal Definitions - RFP

RFP stands for Request for Production.

In legal proceedings, a Request for Production is a formal demand made by one party to another during the discovery phase of a lawsuit. It compels the opposing party to provide specific documents, electronically stored information (ESI), or other tangible items that are relevant to the claims or defenses in the lawsuit. The purpose is to allow parties to gather evidence and facts necessary to prepare their case for trial or settlement.

• Example 1: Contract Dispute

  Imagine a software development company (Company A) is suing a client (Company B) for unpaid invoices, arguing that all contracted work was completed. Company B, however, claims the software was delivered late and was buggy. To prepare its defense, Company B's legal team might issue an RFP to Company A requesting all project management logs, internal communication emails between Company A's developers, bug tracking reports, and server access logs related to the project. This request aims to uncover evidence regarding the project timeline, identified issues, and the actual completion status of the software.

  How it illustrates RFP: Company B is formally demanding specific documents and electronic data from Company A to gather evidence that supports its claim of late delivery and software defects, which are central to the contract dispute.

• Example 2: Personal Injury Lawsuit

  Consider a pedestrian who was hit by a delivery truck and is now suing the trucking company for negligence and personal injuries. The pedestrian's attorney suspects the truck driver might have been distracted. The attorney could issue an RFP to the trucking company requesting the driver's logbooks for the day of the accident, the truck's maintenance records for the past year, any GPS data from the truck around the time of the incident, and the driver's cell phone records (redacted for privacy, but showing usage times) from the period immediately before the accident. This helps determine if the truck was properly maintained or if the driver was distracted.

  How it illustrates RFP: The pedestrian's attorney is using an RFP to obtain specific documents and electronic data (logbooks, maintenance records, GPS data, cell phone records) from the trucking company to investigate the cause of the accident and the potential negligence of the driver or company.

• Example 3: Employment Discrimination Case

  Suppose a former employee is suing their employer, alleging they were unfairly passed over for a promotion due to age discrimination. The employee's legal team might issue an RFP to the employer asking for various documents. These could include the employee's full personnel file, performance reviews for all candidates considered for the promotion, internal memos or emails discussing the promotion decision, and anonymized demographic data of employees promoted to similar positions within the last five years. This information helps the employee build a case showing a pattern of discrimination or that the stated reasons for not promoting them were pretextual.

  How it illustrates RFP: The employee's attorney is formally requesting a range of documents and data from the employer to gather evidence that could prove age discrimination in the promotion process.