§ 94.Discovery

Discovery is often where litigation costs pile up, so § 94 puts a hard ceiling on it for limited civil cases. Instead of the open-ended discovery available in an unlimited civil case, a party gets a fixed, combined allotment.

That allotment is 35 total requests split among interrogatories, demands to produce documents or things, and requests for admission; the interrogatories and admission requests can’t carry subparts, which closes off the tactic of using a single numbered request to pack in several. On top of that, each party gets one oral or written deposition — a deposition of an organization counts as a single deposition even if several people end up testifying for it. A party may also serve a deposition subpoena on any person, requiring that person to mail copies of documents, books, or records instead of appearing; physical and mental examinations remain available under the general discovery rules, and each side may disclose its expert witnesses’ identities.

The cap forces litigants to prioritize — 35 requests and one deposition rarely stretch far once a case is seriously contested — which is the tradeoff for keeping a limited civil case cheaper and faster to try.