Rule 407.Nonparties

Rule 407 is a single sentence and a saving clause: these rules do not preclude an independent action against a nonparty for production of documents and tangible things or to permit an inspection.

What it preserves

The ordinary route to a nonparty's documents is a Rule 409 subpoena, issued in the pending case and subject to that rule's protections — notice to the opposing party seven days before service, payment of the reasonable cost of production, and the court's power to quash or condition compliance on prepayment.

Rule 407 confirms that route is not exclusive. Where a subpoena will not serve — because there is no pending action, because the material is held outside the reach of the case, or because the relief needed is broader than production — a separate action remains available.

What it does not do

It creates nothing. The rule preserves whatever independent action already exists in Idaho law; it does not supply a cause of action, a standard, or a procedure. And it does not lower the bar for reaching a nonparty: a party cannot use an independent action to escape the protections Rule 409 builds around people who are not before the court.

Rule 402(c)(2) is worth remembering alongside it. In civil protection order actions the discovery rules do not apply at all, so a subpoena for production is unavailable without a successful motion — which makes what Rule 407 preserves more than theoretical there.