Rule 56.Modifying Discovery and Disclosure Procedures and Deadlines

Rule 56 is the flexibility valve for Part VII, and it is unusually generous.

By written agreement

Unless the court orders otherwise, the parties may agree in writing to take a deposition before any certified reporter, at any time or place, on any notice, and in any manner specified -- and it may then be used exactly as any other deposition. They may also agree to modify other procedures in these rules governing or limiting discovery or disclosure, which reaches the disclosure deadlines in Rule 49, the interrogatory and request limits in Rules 60, 62 and 64, and the deposition constraints in Rule 57.

The one condition

A written agreement is effective without a court order unless it interferes with court-ordered deadlines, the time set for a hearing, or the time set for trial. That single line is what makes the rule work: the parties control the schedule between themselves, and the court's calendar is the only thing they cannot move by agreement.

By motion

Where agreement is not available, a party may move to modify any procedure governing or limiting discovery or disclosure. The motion must set forth the modification sought, show good cause, and attach a Rule 9(c) good faith consultation certificate -- so even the contested route begins with an attempt to agree.