§ 2017.220.Sexual harassment, assault or battery allegations; monetary sanctions

Cases alleging sexual harassment, sexual assault, or sexual battery raise an obvious risk that discovery could be used to intimidate or embarrass the plaintiff by probing that person's sexual history with people who have nothing to do with the case, and this section builds in a screening step before that kind of discovery can proceed. A party seeking discovery of the plaintiff's sexual conduct with someone other than the alleged perpetrator must establish specific facts showing good cause for the discovery and showing that it is relevant to the subject matter of the action and reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence.

That showing cannot be made informally or behind closed doors. It has to come through a noticed motion, accompanied by the standard meet and confer declaration, and the section expressly bars a court from making or considering this showing at an ex parte hearing, guaranteeing the plaintiff notice and a chance to respond before any such discovery is ordered.

As with other discovery-limiting motions in this Act, the section backs its procedural requirements with a mandatory sanction: a court must impose a monetary sanction against a party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or opposes a motion for this kind of discovery, unless the losing side acted with substantial justification or a sanction would otherwise be unjust.