The Nebraska motion to compel: the bill can reach the law firm, not just the lawyer

Nebraska's discovery sanctions rule was rewritten effective 1 January 2025, and the current version carries a phrase worth noticing. Where most rules reach "the party or attorney advising that conduct," Nebraska adds:

the attorney's law firm or employer

The award can land on the firm. That is a materially different exposure from an award against an individual lawyer, and it appears in both directions — against the party resisting and against the party moving.

(The rule as it stood before 1 January 2025 remains on the rule page for reference. Everything below is the current version.)

The certification

Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-337(a)(1):

In General. On notice to other parties and all affected persons, a party may move for an order compelling disclosure or discovery. The motion must include a certification that the movant has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make disclosure or discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action.

"Must include" — a required component of the motion, covering "conferred or attempted to confer", so an unresponsive opponent cannot block the motion by silence.

One forum

§ 6-337(a)(2):

Appropriate Court. A motion for an order compelling disclosure or discovery must be made in the court in which the action is pending.

No split for depositions, and none for non-parties. Everything goes to the court where the action is pending — the same simplification Louisiana makes.

What can be compelled

§ 6-337(a)(3):

(A) To Compel Disclosure. If a party fails to make a disclosure required by Rule 26(c), any other party may move to compel disclosure and for appropriate sanctions.

(B) To Compel a Discovery Response. A party seeking discovery may move for an order compelling an answer, designation, production or inspection. The motion may be made if:

(i) a deponent fails to answer a question asked under Rule 30 or Rule 31; (ii) a corporation or other entity fails to make a designation under Rule 30(b)(6) or 31(a)(5); (iii) a party fails to answer an interrogatory submitted under Rule 33; or (iv) a party fails to produce documents or fails to respond that inspection will be permitted – or fails to permit inspection – as requested under Rule

Note (A): Nebraska's 2025 rules include a disclosure regime under Rule 26(c), and a failure to disclose is compellable with sanctions in the same motion.

§ 6-337(a)(4):

Evasive or Incomplete Disclosure, Answer, or Response. For purposes of this subpart (a), an evasive or incomplete disclosure, answer, or response must be treated as a failure to disclose, answer, or respond.

Mandatory — "must be treated" — and it covers disclosures as well as answers and responses.

Fees, both ways, both mandatory

§ 6-337(a)(5)(A):

If the Motion is Granted (or Disclosure or Discovery is Provided After Filing). If the motion is granted – or if the disclosure or requested discovery is provided after the motion was filed – the court must, after giving an opportunity to be heard, require the party or deponent whose conduct necessitated the motion, the party or attorney advising that conduct, the attorney's law firm or employer, or some or all of them to pay the movant's reasonable expenses incurred in making the motion, including attorney fees. But, the court must not order this payment if:

(i) the movant filed the motion before attempting in good faith to obtain the disclosure or discovery without court action; (ii) the opposing party's nondisclosure, response, or objection was substantially justified; or (iii) other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.

§ 6-337(a)(5)(B):

If the Motion is Denied. If the motion is denied, the court may issue any protective order authorized under Rule 26(d) and must, after giving an opportunity to be heard, require the movant, the attorney filing the motion, the attorney's law firm or employer, or some or all of them to pay to the party or deponent who opposed the motion its reasonable expenses incurred in opposing the motion, including attorney fees. But the court must not order this payment if the motion was substantially justified or other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.

Three points.

Producing late does not help. The award applies equally where the discovery "is provided after the motion was filed."

The first exception is a bar. The court "must not order this payment" if the movant filed before attempting in good faith to obtain the material without court action. The certification is what proves you did — and skipping the conference costs you the fees even if you win.

"Some or all of them." The court can apportion between party, lawyer and firm rather than choosing one.

A denied motion may also produce a protective order under Rule 26(d).

Before you file

1. Confer, and certify it. It is a required component of the motion and an absolute condition of recovering expenses.
2. File in the court where the action is pending — there is no alternative forum.
3. Decide which limb applies — a Rule 26(c) disclosure or a discovery response.
4. Quote (a)(4) where the response was evasive or incomplete, including a disclosure.
5. Weigh the exposure. A denied motion carries a mandatory award, and it can reach your firm.

If a default judgment has already been entered, note that Nebraska's relief statute is old-style Code pleading with no excusable neglect ground — see vacating a Nebraska default judgment.

How Nebraska compares

A short checklist

1. Include the certification. Without it you cannot recover expenses even on a granted motion.
2. File where the action is pending. There is no deposition or non-party exception.
3. Pick the limb — Rule 26(c) disclosure or discovery response.
4. Quote the evasive-answer provision, which is mandatory here and covers disclosures.
5. Say that late production does not defeat the claim, because the rule says so.
6. Consider naming the firm where the conduct warrants it — the rule permits it.
7. As respondent, comply before a motion is filed. Complying afterwards does not avoid the award.

Where these rules live

• Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-326 — General Provisions Governing Discovery
• Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-333 — Interrogatories to Parties
• Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-334 — Producing Documents and Things
• Neb. Ct. R. Disc. § 6-337 — Failure to make disclosures or to cooperate in discovery: sanctions

This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and what makes a response substantially justified is developed in case law this site doesn't cover.