The Mississippi motion to compel: refusing to agree a discovery plan is sanctionable
Mississippi procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Mississippi adds a subsection most states leave out entirely. Rule 37(e) reaches conduct that has nothing to do with a specific unanswered request:
fails without good cause to cooperate in the framing of an appropriate discovery plan by agreement under Rule 26(c), or (ii) otherwise abuses the discovery process in seeking, making or resisting discovery.
Two things follow. Obstruction at the planning stage is sanctionable on its own. And the provision reaches abuse in seeking discovery as well as in resisting it — so an overreaching requesting party is within it too.
Additional sanctions
Miss. R. Civ. P. 37(e):
Additional Sanctions. In addition to the application of those sanctions, specified in Rule 26(d) and other provisions of this rule, the court may impose upon any party or counsel such sanctions as may be just, including the payment of reasonable expenses and attorneys' fees, if any party or counsel (i) fails without good cause to cooperate in the framing of an appropriate discovery plan by agreement under Rule 26(c), or (ii) otherwise abuses the discovery process in seeking, making or resisting discovery.
| Trigger | |
|---|---|
| (i) failing without good cause to cooperate in framing a discovery plan by agreement under Rule 26(c) | |
| (ii) otherwise abusing the discovery process in seeking, making or resisting discovery | |
| Who may be sanctioned | any party or counsel |
| What may be imposed | such sanctions as may be just, including reasonable expenses and attorneys' fees |
Note that (e) applies "in addition to" the sanctions elsewhere in the rule — it is a supplement, not an alternative, so it can be sought alongside an ordinary motion.
The certification
Rule 37(a) requires the motion to include:
certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make discovery in an effort to obtain it without
"Conferred or attempted to confer" — a party who will not engage cannot block the motion.
Fees, both ways, both mandatory
Mississippi is symmetric: the award is mandatory when the motion is granted and mandatory when it is denied, subject in each case to substantial justification or other circumstances making an award unjust.
That combination — mandatory both ways, plus the (e) power to sanction abuse in seeking discovery — means an overreaching motion here carries real risk. Build the record before filing.
Evasive answers
Mississippi carries the standard provision: an evasive or incomplete answer is to be treated as a failure to answer.
The failure-to-admit provision
Rule 37(c) allows a party who proves a matter the other side wrongly refused to admit to recover the reasonable expenses of making that proof, including attorneys' fees, subject to the usual exceptions.
Once an order is disobeyed
Rule 37(b) supplies the sanctions — deemed-established facts, preclusion, striking pleadings, staying proceedings, dismissal, default judgment, and contempt. A deponent who "fails to be sworn or to answer a question after being directed to do so by the court" may be held in contempt.
Before you file
- Confirm proper service and that the response period has run — see responding to a Mississippi complaint.
- Confer and certify it.
- Consider whether (e) applies — planning obstruction and process abuse are separate grounds.
- Weigh the mandatory downside. A denied motion carries an award against you.
If judgment has already been entered, note Mississippi's six-month limit and its renumbered grounds — see setting aside a Mississippi default judgment.
How Mississippi compares
| Mississippi | Alabama | Tennessee | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conference certification required | yes | no | no | yes |
| Fees when granted | shall | shall | shall | must |
| Fees when denied | shall | shall | shall | must |
| Sanctions for refusing to agree a discovery plan | yes | no | no | no |
| Sanctions for abuse in seeking discovery | yes | no | no | no |
| Sanctions may fall on counsel directly | yes | yes | yes | yes |
A short checklist
- Certify the conference in the motion.
- Check whether the problem started at the planning stage — Rule 37(e)(i) reaches it.
- Use (e)(ii) against an overreaching requesting party, not only a withholding one.
- Quote the evasive-answer provision where the response was thin.
- Ask for expenses and fees under (e) alongside the ordinary relief; it applies in addition.
- Expect a mandatory award either way, so do not file a marginal motion.
- Consider Rule 37(c) after proving something wrongly denied.
Where these rules live
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 26 — General Provisions Governing Discovery
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 33 — Interrogatories to Parties
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 34 — Production of Documents and Things
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 36 — Requests for Admission
- Miss. R. Civ. P. 37 — Failure to Make or Cooperate in Discovery: Sanctions
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what amounts to good cause or abuse of the discovery process is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.