Glossary
The pretrial process by which parties exchange documents, written answers, depositions, and expert reports to develop the evidentiary record.
Discovery is the formal pretrial phase of civil litigation governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 26-37) and analogous state rules, through which parties obtain information from one another via interrogatories, requests for production of documents and electronically stored information, requests for admission, depositions, and expert disclosures. In MDL proceedings, common discovery is typically coordinated by the Plaintiff Steering Committee with rolling productions of corporate custodial files and 30(b)(6) depositions.