Rule 1.506.Stipulations regarding discovery procedure

Rule 1.506 gives parties room to streamline discovery on their own terms. Unless the court orders otherwise, they can stipulate in writing that depositions may be taken before any qualified person, at any time or place, on any notice, and in any manner, and once taken that way the deposition can be used like any other deposition. Parties can also stipulate to modify the procedures the rules otherwise set for other discovery methods.

The official Comment explains why the rule looks the way it does today. The old requirement for formal stipulations to extend deadlines — to answer interrogatories or respond to production requests — was dropped, since parties rarely bothered to put those routine extensions in writing anyway. A formal stipulation is still required, though, to extend the time for responding to requests for admission. The Comment also notes that the filing requirement for discovery stipulations, including those about admission responses, was removed, consistent with Rule 1.502's approach of keeping routine discovery paperwork out of the court file.