Utah initial disclosures: 14 days for a plaintiff, 42 for a defendant
Utah procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
Utah's disclosure regime is triggered by pleadings, not by a conference. There is no Rule 26(f) meeting to schedule and no case management conference to wait for: the answer lands, and the clock starts.
The two sides also get very different amounts of time, which surprises people coming from federal practice.
What must be disclosed
Utah R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1) requires four categories, served "without waiting for a discovery request":
(A) the name and, if known, the address and telephone number of:
(i) each individual likely to have discoverable information supporting its claims or defenses, unless solely for impeachment, identifying the subjects of the information; and
(ii) each fact witness the party may call in its case-in-chief and, except for an adverse party, a summary of the expected testimony;
(B) a copy of all documents, data compilations, electronically stored information, and tangible things in the possession or control of the party that the party may offer in its case-in-chief, except charts, summaries, and demonstrative exhibits that have not yet been prepared and must be disclosed in accordance with paragraph (a)(5);
(C) a computation of any damages claimed and a copy of all discoverable documents or evidentiary material on which such computation is based, including materials about the nature and extent of injuries suffered;
(D) a copy of any agreement under which any person may be liable to satisfy part or all of a judgment or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment …
Two features stand out.
(A)(ii) asks for a summary of expected testimony. Not just the witness's name and the subjects — an actual summary of what they will say, for each fact witness you may call in your case-in-chief. The only exception is an adverse party.
(B) requires copies, not a description. Utah does not offer the "description by category and location" alternative that Colorado, Nevada and the federal rule allow. You produce the documents.
Impeachment-only material is excluded from (A)(i), and un-prepared demonstratives are deferred to the pretrial disclosures under (a)(5).
The asymmetric deadlines
Rule 26(a)(2):
Timing of initial disclosures. The disclosures required by paragraph (a)(1) must be served on the other parties:
(A) by a plaintiff within 14 days after the filing of the first answer to that plaintiff's complaint; and
(B) by a defendant within 42 days after the filing of that defendant's first answer to the complaint.
| Party | Deadline | Measured from |
|---|---|---|
| Plaintiff | 14 days | the filing of the first answer to that plaintiff's complaint |
| Defendant | 42 days | the filing of that defendant's own first answer |
Both triggers are the filing of an answer, but they are different answers. A plaintiff facing several defendants is on the clock from the first answer filed — not from the last, and not from its own conduct. Forty-two days for the defendant is generous; fourteen for the plaintiff is not.
Expert discovery: the other side chooses
Utah's expert procedure is unusual and worth knowing about from the outset, because it shapes how you budget a case. Rule 26(a)(4)(B):
Limits on expert discovery. Further discovery may be obtained from an expert witness either by deposition or by written report. A deposition must not exceed four hours and the party taking the deposition must pay the expert's reasonable hourly fees for attendance at the deposition. A report must be signed by the expert and must contain a complete statement of all opinions the expert will offer at trial and the basis and reasons for them. Such an expert may not testify in a party's case-in-chief concerning any matter not fairly disclosed in the report. The party offering the expert must pay the costs for the report.
Three consequences:
- Four-hour cap on an expert deposition, and the deposing party pays the expert's hourly fee.
- If a report is elected instead, the party offering the expert pays for it.
- An expert may not testify in the case-in-chief about anything not fairly disclosed in the report.
The choice belongs to the opposing party. Under (a)(4)(C)(i), the party bearing the burden discloses within 14 days after the close of fact discovery; the opponent then has 14 days to elect a deposition or a report; and the deposition or report follows within 42 days of that election. And:
If no election is served on the other parties, then no further discovery of the expert must be permitted.
Doing nothing forfeits expert discovery entirely.
In multiparty cases, (a)(4)(D) requires all opposing parties to agree on a report or a deposition — "If all parties opposing the expert do not agree, then further discovery of the expert may be obtained only by deposition."
Pretrial disclosures
Rule 26(a)(5)(B) closes the sequence:
Disclosure required by paragraph (a)(5)(A) must be served on the other parties at least 28 days before trial. Disclosures required by paragraph (a)(5)(A)(i) and (a)(5)(A)(ii) must also be filed on the date that they are served. At least 14 days before trial, a party must serve any counter designations of deposition testimony and any objections and grounds for the objections to the use of any deposition, witness, or exhibit if the grounds for the objection are apparent before trial.
28 days for the pretrial disclosures — witnesses, deposition designations, and a copy of each exhibit — and 14 days for counter-designations and objections.
Objections apparent before trial must be made then. Saving them for trial is not contemplated.
How Utah compares
| Utah | Colorado | Nevada | Federal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger | the filing of an answer | the case being at issue | the case conference | the Rule 26(f) conference |
| Plaintiff's deadline | 14 days | 28 days | 14 days after the conference | 14 days after the conference |
| Defendant's deadline | 42 days | 28 days | same as plaintiff | same as plaintiff |
| Documents | copies required | copies or description | copy or description | copy or description |
| Summary of expected testimony | yes, for fact witnesses | brief description of information held | subjects of the information | subjects of the information |
| Expert discovery method | opponent elects deposition or report | report | report | report |
| Expert deposition cap | 4 hours, deposing party pays | — | — | 7 hours |
A short checklist
- Watch the docket for the first answer. If you are the plaintiff, that filing starts your 14 days — regardless of how many defendants are still to answer.
- If you are a defendant, count 42 days from filing your own answer.
- Produce copies, not descriptions. Utah does not offer the description-by-category alternative.
- Write a summary of expected testimony for each fact witness you may call in your case-in-chief.
- Compute damages by category and attach the material the computation rests on, including material on the nature and extent of injuries.
- Disclose indemnity and insurance agreements.
- Diarise the expert sequence — disclosure 14 days after fact discovery closes, then 14 days to elect, then 42 days to complete.
- Serve an election. If you do not, you get no further expert discovery at all.
- Budget for the expert method you choose — you pay for a deposition you take; the offering party pays for a report.
- Diarise 28 days and 14 days before trial for pretrial disclosures and for counter-designations and objections.
Where these rules live
- Utah R. Civ. P. 26 — Disclosure and discovery
- Utah R. Civ. P. 26.1 — Disclosure and discovery in domestic relations actions
- Utah R. Civ. P. 30 — Depositions by oral examination
- Utah R. Civ. P. 33 — Interrogatories to parties
- Utah R. Civ. P. 37 — Failure to make disclosure or cooperate in discovery
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and the standard discovery tiers that govern how much discovery is available in a given case should be checked against the current rule text before relying on this page.