DISCOVERY: ACTIVE LEARNING EXERCISE (PROFESSOR NATHENSON)

Instructions:

  • You will be broken into groups of 5-6 persons via “count-off”.
  • Join your group in your part of the room.
  • Take out your laptops. Quickly re-familiarize yourself with the Two Men and a Truck case found at https://www.nathenson.org/courses/civpro/resources/two-men/.
  • Odd numbered groups represent the plaintiff, Two Men and a Truck Int’l, Inc.
  • Even numbered groups represent the defendants, Clete, Inc. and Hensley.
  • Plaintiff (odd numbered) groups to the left of the room (by door); even-numbered groups to the right.

Note: If you were present in class the first day, you already have your group number. Assemble with your group for class until we are done with discovery. If you were absent from the first day, then self-assign to a group using your student ID. Use the first non-zero digit of your student ID, that’ll be your group (1 through 9).

Issue Plaintiff group Defendants group
What information do you want to obtain from your opponent through discovery? What information can you not get from your opponent? Be specific. Consider FRCP 26(b) (scope of discovery, limitations, work product, attorney-client privilege). 1 2
What order will you do discovery in? What is first? What follows? Consider FRCP 26(d)(3) as well as devices such as depositions (FRCP 30), interrogatories (FRCP 33), requests for documents and things (FRCP 34), medical exams (FRCP 35), and requests for admissions (FRCP 36). 3 4
What information must you give over to your opponent under FRCP 26(a)(1)? What information do you not need to give up under 26(a)(1)? Be specific. 5 6
Who do you want to depose? What will you ask them? See FRCP 30. 7 8
Who will you send interrogatories to? Write two interrogatory questions. See FRCP 33. 9 10
What information will you seek through FRCP 34? Write a production request. 11 12
Write two requests for admissions. See FRCP 36. 13 14

Handed out in class 11/7/19, posted online 11/10/19