Florida Conference of Circuit Judges Hon. Angela J. Cowden, Chair Conference of County Court Judges of Florida Hon. David L. Denkin, President Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar Mindy McLaughlin, Chair TLS Discovery Handbook Committee Nick Mizell, Editor and Chair Hon. Elizabeth Rice Hon. Ralph Artigliere John Williams Prof. William Hamilton Rachael Loukonen Weston F. Smith Kim Ashby Joseph “Skooter” Kinman PREFACE In 1994, the Trial Lawyers Section of The Florida Bar, the Conference of Circuit Judges, and the Conference of County Court Judges formed a joint committee to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas on how to improve the day-to-day practice of law for trial lawyers and trial judges. At the committee’s first meeting, it was the overwhelming consensus that “discovery abuse” should be the top priority. The original handbook and the later editions are the result of the continued joint efforts of the Trial Lawyers Section, the Conference of Circuit Judges, and the Conference of County Court Judges. It is intended to be a quick reference for lawyers and judges on many recurring discovery problems. It does not profess to be the dispositive legal authority on any particular issue. It is designed to help busy lawyers and judges quickly access legal authority for the covered topics. The ultimate objective is to help curtail perceived abuses in discovery so that the search for truth is not thwarted by the discovery process itself. The reader should still do his or her own research, to include a review of local administrative orders and rules. The first edition of this handbook was prepared in the fall of 1995. This 2019 (seventeenth) edition updates the handbook through December 2018. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: Discovery Standard and Expectations ................................................. 1 Chapter 2: Preservation and Spoliation of Evidence ............................................. 3 Preservation .............................................................................. 3 Safe Harbor for Electronically Stored Information ..................... 5 Spoliation ................................................................................... 6 Sanctions ................................................................................... 7 Chapter 3: Electronic Discovery ............................................................................ 10 The Duty of Electronic Discovery Competence .................................... 10 Law, Policy, and Principles of Electronic Discovery ............................. 11 Protecting Client Confidences and Data .............................................. 19 Duties of Attorney and Client Regarding Preservation of ESI .............. 20 Florida’s “Safe Harbor” Provision .............................................. 27 Conferring with Opposing Counsel ...................................................... 27 Key Word Search, Relevancy and Scope of Discovery ...................... 29 Collection and Review of ESI ............................................................... 31 Framework for the Trial Lawyer Facing E-Discovery ........................... 33 Requesting Production and Making Production of ESI ........................ 38 Production of ESI Pursuant to Subpoena ............................................ 41 Discovery of Social Media ESI ............................................................. 42 Discovery of Electronic Media and Health Records ............................. 43 Inspection of Opposing Party Devices ................................................. 45 “Self-Help” Discovery ........................................................................... 48 Ten Practical Steps for Handling Electronic Evidence ......................... 51 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 54 Chapter 4: Written Discovery Practice ................................................................... 55 Documents Requested ........................................................................ 55 Duty of Good Faith and Due Diligence ...................................... 55 Formulating Requests for Documents ....................................... 55 Use of Form Requests............................................................... 55 Reading and Interpreting Requests for Documents ................... 56 Contact When a Document Request is Received ...................... 56 Responding to Document Requests .......................................... 57 Objections ................................................................................. 58 When Production is Limited by Interpretation ............................ 59 Supplementation of Document Production ................................ 60 Claim of Privilege ...................................................................... 60 Oral Requests for Production of Documents ............................. 61 Location of Production ............................................................... 61 Available for Copying ................................................................ 61 Manner of Production ................................................................ 62 Listing and Marking ................................................................... 62 Copying ..................................................................................... 63 Scanning ................................................................................... 64 Later Inspection ......................................................................... 64 Interrogatories ...................................................................................... 64 Number and Scope of Interrogatories ....................................... 64 Answers ..................................................................................... 65 Objections ................................................................................. 66 Claims of Privilege ..................................................................... 67 Contention Interrogatories ......................................................... 67 Reference to Deposition or Document ...................................... 67 Interrogatories Should be Reasonably Particularized ................ 68 Producing Records in Lieu of Answering Interrogatories ........... 68 Answering Objectionable Interrogatories ................................... 69 Requests for Admission ....................................................................... 70 Number and Scope for Admission ............................................. 70 Responding to Requests for Admission..................................... 70 Objections ................................................................................. 71 Asserting Fifth Amendment Privilege ........................................ 71 Amending Responses to Request for Admission ...................... 72 Chapter 5: Proper Conduct of Depositions ............................................................ 73 Objections ............................................................................................ 74 Proper Form of Objections ........................................................ 74 Speaking Objections ................................................................. 75 Examinations ....................................................................................... 76 Proper Responses to Improper Conduct .............................................. 77 Deposition of Corporate Representative(s) .......................................... 78 Conclusion ........................................................................................... 79 Chapter 6: Expert Witness Discovery .................................................................... 80 I. Introduction ....................................................................................... 80 II. Discovery From a Party ................................................................... 81 A. Retained Experts ....................................................................... 81 1. Opinion Discovery ............................................................... 81 2. “Financial” or “Litigation Bias” Discovery .............................. 83 3. “Relationship Bias” Discovery .............................................. 85 B. Consulting Experts ................................................................... 88 C. Non-Party Medical Providers..................................................... 89 1. “Pure” and “Hybrid” Treating Physicians .............................. 89 2. Opinion Discovery ................................................................ 90 3. “Financial” or “Litigation Bias” Discovery .............................. 91 4. Relationship Bias” Discovery ............................................... 94 D. LOP Providers ........................................................................... 95 1. Opinion Discovery ............................................................... 96 2. “Financial” or “Litigation Bias” Discovery .............................. 97 3. “Relationship Bias” Discovery .............................................. 97 III. Discovery Served Directly on the Experts ....................................... 97 A. Retained Experts ....................................................................... 97 1. Opinion Discovery ............................................................... 97 2. “Financial” or “Litigation Bias” Discovery .............................