Rule 29.Stipulations about discovery procedure

Litigation moves faster when parties can settle small procedural questions between themselves instead of running to the court every time. Rule 29 lets parties stipulate that a deposition be taken before any person, at any time or place, on whatever notice and in whatever manner they agree to, and a deposition taken that way can be used exactly like any other deposition in the case. The same flexibility extends to the discovery procedures more broadly: parties can agree to modify how discovery is conducted or limited under the rules, without needing to draft a formal motion for every adjustment.

That freedom has one boundary. If a stipulation would extend the deadline for any form of discovery in a way that interferes with the trial date already set, the parties need the court's approval before it takes effect, and the same is true whenever some other court order already requires approval for that kind of change. Outside those situations, the court can always order otherwise and override an agreement between the parties, but absent such an order, a well-drafted stipulation lets the parties run discovery on their own terms.