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Motion to Compel Production of Documents in Delaware
What Is a Motion to Compel Production of Documents?
Background
“Delaware Superior Court Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(1) states [p]arties may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the pending action . . .” (See Hunter v. Bogia, C.A. No. N14C-04-080-PRW, at *10 (Del. Super. Ct. July 29, 2015).)
"This court is mindful of the broad purpose of the discovery procedure provided by the Federal Rules, to permit mutual knowledge before trial of all relevant facts gathered by both parties, that, to this end, either party may compel the other to disgorge whatever facts he has in his possession, and that the courts should interpret liberally the rules dealing with discovery.” (See Williams v. Hall (1961) 54 Del. 350, 361-62.)
General Information for Complaints and Motions
“A motion to compel production of documents is discretionary, and the party seeking production must affirmatively show that good cause exists for production. Whether ‘good cause’ exists should be determined by the facts and circumstances, on a case by case basis.” (See Brady v. Suh, Civil Action No. 06C-01-366JOH, at *5 (Del. Super. Ct. July 8, 2009).)
“The party seeking discovery must make showing of a substantial need for the materials in order to advance its case.” (See id.)
“The party asserting a privilege bears the burden of proving that it applies to the documents or communications in question. Accordingly, a party who withholds information otherwise discoverable . . . by claiming that it is privileged or subject to protection as trial preparation material . . . shall make the claim expressly and shall describe the nature of the documents, communications, or things not produced or disclosed in a manner that, without revealing information itself privileged or protected, will enable other parties to assess the applicability of the privilege or protection.” (See Titan Inv. Fd. II v. Freedom Mrtg., C.A. No. 09C-10-259 WCC, at *6-7 (Del. Super. Ct. Feb. 2, 2011).)
Standard of Review and Burdens of Proof
“A party may seek a motion to compel discovery, when, after making a request for inspection under Rule 34 of the Superior Court Rules of Civil Procedure, the opposing party fails to permit inspection as requested. The Court has discretion to order the disclosure of information in the interests of justice based on the facts and circumstances of the case.” (See CNH Industrial Am. LLC v. Travelers Indem. Co., C.A. No. N12C-07-108 EMD CCLD, at *2 (Del. Super. Ct. Feb. 19, 2015).)
“The application of the discovery rules is subject to the exercise of the trial court's sound discretion.” (See Dann v. Chrysler Corp. (1960) Del. Ch., 166 A.2d 431, 432.) “Such discretion is guided by the rule that discovery should be permitted unless the court is satisfied that the administration of justice will be impeded by such an allowance.” (See Mann v. Oppenheimer Co. (1986) 517 A.2d 1056, 1061.)
“The scope of permissible discovery is broad, therefore objections to discovery requests, in general, will not be allowed unless there have been clear abuses of the process which would result in great and needless expense and time consumption. The burden is on the objecting party to show why the requested information is improperly requested." (See id.)
“This State's liberal discovery rules permit discovery of materials rcasonably likely to relate to the subject matter in dispute, even if the materials were created after the filing of the complaint” (See RE E.I. DU Pont De Nemours v. Conoco, Civil Action No. 17686, at *1 n.6 (Del. Ch. Feb. 6, 2001).)
“The frequency or extent of use of the discovery . . . shall be limited by the Court if it determines that: . . . (ii) the party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity by discovery in the action to obtain the information sought.” (See Pallano v. Corportation, C.A. No. N09C-11-021 JRJ, at *4 n.15 (Del. Super. Ct. Sep. 29, 2015).)
“The Court must “balance the competing policy considerations, including the need to provide an adversary with sufficient information to engage in meaningful cross-examination and prepare a rebuttal, on the one hand, and the need to protect the attorney's zone of privacy to efficiently prepare a case for trial without incurring the undue expense of engaging multiple experts, on the other.” (See Green v. Nemours Found., C.A. N15C-03-208 CEB, at *10 (Del. Super. Ct. Aug. 17, 2016).)
Meet and Confer
“All motions relating to discovery shall include a certificate signed by counsel for the moving party that counsel for that party has conferred or attempted to confer with all interested parties in order to resolve the matter without Court action, and shall set forth the nature of the efforts made to resolve the matter. Failure to comply with the foregoing shall result in the refusal of the Court to hear the motion.” (See Penn. Del. Cnty. 208.2(e).)
The Court’s Decisions
It is well settled that "The party attempting to withhold discovery bears the burden of showing that the communications fall within the scope of the common-interest doctrine." In the transactional context, the attorney-client privilege will not attach to communications shared with transactional counterparties unless the parties have interests that are so parallel and non-adverse that, at least with respect to the transaction involved, they may be regarded as acting as joint venturers.” (See Buttonwood Tree Value Partners, L.P. v. R. L. Polk & Co., C.A. No. 9250-VCG, at *20 (Del. Ch. July 30, 2021).)
It is also well settled that “Rule 26(a)(1)(a)(i) states that the Court shall limit the extent of discovery if it determines that the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or is obtainable from some other source that is more convenient, less burdensome, or less expensive...” (See Gemalto, Inc. v. Merch. Customer Exchanges, LLC, C.A. No. N15M-07-052, at *3 (Del. Super. Ct. Sep. 2, 2015).)
Documents for Motion to Compel Production of Documents in Delaware
10 pages
IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN RE SWERVEPAY ) Consolidated C.A. No. ACQUISITION, LLC ) 2021-0447-KSJM POST-TRIAL MEMORANDUM OPINION ADDRESSING EVIDENTIARY ISSUE Date Submitted: July 10, 2025 Date Decided: July 29, 2026 Peter J. Walsh, Jr., Nicholas D. Mozal, Ryan M. Crowley, POTTER ANDERSON & CORROON LLP, Wilmington, Delaware; Orion …
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Jul 29, 2026
Court Category
Civil
Judge
McCormick, C.
16 pages
IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE RICHARD F. BURKHART, WILLIAM E. ) KELLY, RICHARD S. LAVERY, ) THOMAS R. PRATT, and GERALD ) GREEN, individually and on behalf of all ) others similarly situated, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) C.A. No. 2018-0691-NAC …
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Aug 21, 2024
Court Category
CIVIL ACTIONS
243 pages
IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE AB STABLE VIII LLC, ) ) Plaintiff/Counterclaim-Defendant, ) ) v. ) C.A. No. 2020-0310-JTL ) MAPS HOTELS AND RESORTS ONE LLC, MIRAE ) ASSET CAPITAL CO., LTD…
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Nov 30, 2020
Court Category
CIVIL ACTIONS
27 pages
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE WILD MEADOWS MHC, LLC, C.A. No. K19M-07-003 NEP Petitioner, i In and for Kent County Vv. x DAVID J. WEIDMAN, ESQUIRE, ARBITRATOR, Respondent, and WILD MEADOWS HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, Intervenor-Respondent. Submitted: June 18, 2020 Decided: July 10, 2020 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Upon Respondents Motion to Dismiss GRANTED Upon Intervenor-Respondents Motion to Dismiss GRANT…
County
Kent County, DE
Filed Date
Jul 10, 2020
Court Category
WRIT OF PROHIBITION
38 pages
IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE GMF ELCM FUND L.P., GMF ELCM ) LLC, GMF ELCM REGENCY I LLC ) and GMF ELCM REGENCY II LLC, ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) v. ) C.A. No. 2018-0840-SG ) ) ELCM HCRE GP LLC, ELCM ) SPO…
Case Name
GMF ELCM FUND, L.P. VS. ELCM HCRE GP LLC
Case #
(Subscribe to View)
Case Filed
Nov 19, 2018
Case Status
CLOSED
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Aug 07, 2019
Court Category
CIVIL ACTIONS
Judge
GLASSCOCK III, SAM
19 pages
IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE GKC STRATEGIC VALUE MASTER ) FUND, LP F/K/A GKC APPRAISAL ) RIGHTS MASTER FUND, LP AND ) WALLEYE TRADING LLC, ) ) Petitioners, ) ) v. ) C.A. No. 2017-0769-SG ) BAKER HUGHES INCORPORATED, …
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Jun 25, 2019
Court Category
CIVIL ACTIONS
Judge
GLASSCOCK III, SAM
12 pages
COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE SELENA E MOLINA MASTER IN CHANCERY LEONARD L. WILLIAMS JUSTICE CENTER 500 NORTH KING STREET, SUITE 11400 WILMINGTON, DE 198…
Case Name
IMO ESTATE OF EVELYN CHAMBERS
Case #
(Subscribe to View)
Case Filed
Aug 23, 2018
Case Status
CLOSED
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Mar 26, 2019
Court Category
CIVIL ACTIONS
Judge
ZURN, MORGAN T
30 pages
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE JOSELIN BARRERA, et al. ) ) Plaintiffs, ) ) ) Vv ) C.A. No. N15C-10-118 VLM ) ) MONSANTO COMPANY, ) ) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Submitted: July 13, 2016 Decided: September 13, 2016 Upon Consideration of Defendants Motion to Dismiss, DENIED. Raeann Warner, Esquire, Jacobs & Crumplar, P.A., Wilmington, Delaware, and Robin…
County
New Castle County, DE
Filed Date
Sep 13, 2016
Court Category
MONSANTO
2 pages
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE ARIELL GREEN, Plaintiff, v. C.A. N15C-03-208 CEB THE NEMOURS FOUNDATION, trading as AI DUPONT HOSPITAL and ALFRED I. DUPONT HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN, NN NN ee ee ee eee) Defendant. Submitted: June 15, 2016 Decided: August 17, 2016 Defendants Motion to Compel Production of Documents. DENIED. Richard A. Zappa, Esquire, YOUNG CONAWAY STARGATT & TAYLOR LLP, Wilmington, Delaware. Attorney for Plaintiff.…
County
New Castle County, DE
Filed Date
Aug 17, 2016
Court Category
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
13 pages
COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE SAM GLASSCOCK III STATE OF DELAWARE COURT OF CHANCERY COURTHOUSE VICE CHANCELLOR 34 THE CIRCLE GEORGETOWN, DELAWARE 19947 Date Submitted: November 9, 2015 Date Decided: February 9, 2016 Michael A. Weid…
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Feb 09, 2016
75 pages
IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE AMALGAMATED BANK, Trustee for the ) LongView LargeCap 500 Index Fund and ) LongView LargeCap 500 Index VEBA ) Fund, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) C.A. No. 10774-VCL ) YAHOO! INC., ) …
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Feb 02, 2016
5 pages
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY ANAJAI CALCANO PALLANO, et al., Plaintiffs, ) ) ) ) v. ) C.A. No. NO9C-11-021 JRJ ) THE AES CORPORTATION, et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ORDER AND NOW TO WIT, this 29th of September, 2015, the Court having duly considered Defendants Notice of Exceptions to the Special Masters Ruling of May 22, 2015; and Plaintiffs Response,? IT APPEARS THAT: 1. Speci…
Case Name
PALLANO, ANAJAI CALCANO VS A E S CORP
Case #
(Subscribe to View)
Case Filed
Nov 04, 2009
Case Status
CLOSED
County
New Castle County, DE
Filed Date
Sep 29, 2015
Court Category
PERSONAL INJURY
6 pages
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY GEMALTO, INC., ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) ) C.A. No. N15M-07-052 MERCHANT CUSTOMER EXCHANGES, LLC, ) ) Defendant. ) …
County
New Castle County, DE
Filed Date
Sep 02, 2015
Court Category
ISSUANCE SUBPOENA
Judge
JUDGE, UNASSIGNED NEW CASTLE
3 pages
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY CNH INDUSTRICAL AMERICA LLC, ) ) Plaintiff, ) C.A. No. N12C-07-108 EMD CCLD ) v. ) ) THE TRAVELERS INDEMNITY ) TRIAL…
20 pages
IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY E.I. DU PONT DE NEMOURS AND COMPANY, Plaintiff, ) ) ) ) ) v. ) CA. No. N10C-09-058 JRS CCLD ) MEDTRONIC VASCULAR, INC., _) ) ) Defendant. Date Submitted: February 20, 2012 Date Decided: March 13, 2012 MEMORANDUM OPINION Upon Consideration of Motions to Compel Discovery. GRANTED in Part and DENIED in Part. Richard L. Horwitz, Esquire, Suzanne Hill Holly, Esquire and John A. Sensing, Esquire. P…
County
New Castle County, DE
Filed Date
Mar 13, 2012
Court Category
CCLD: COMPLEX COM LIT DIVISION
7 pages
COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE WILLIAM B. CHANDLER III STATE OF DELAWARE COURT OF CHANCERY COURTHOUSE CHANCELLOR 34 THE CIRCLE GEORGETOWN, DELAWARE 19947 Submitted: August 20, 2007 Decided: September 11, 2007 Stuart M. Grant Megan D. McIntyre Michael J. Barry Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. Chas…
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Sep 11, 2007
3 pages
COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE WILLIAM B. CHANDLER III CHANCELLOR STATE OF DELAWARE CourT OF CHANCERY COURTHOUSE 34 THE CIRCLE GEORGETOWN, DELAWARE 19947 Submitted: April 11, 2007 Decided: April 18, 2007 Jessica Zeldin Rosenthal, Monhait & Goddess, P. A. 919 Market Street, Suite 1401 P.O. Box 1070 Wilmington, DE 19899-1070 William Lafferty Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell 1201 North Market Street Wilmington, DE 19801 Allen Terrell Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A. P.O. Box 551 Wilmington, …
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
Apr 18, 2007
15 pages
IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE IN AND FOR NEW CASTLE COUNTY IN RE FUQUA INDUSTRIES, INC., ) CONSOLIDATED SHAREHOLDER LITIGATION ) Civil Action No. 11974 MEMORANDUM OPINION Date Submitted: December 3 1,200 1 Date Decided: May 2,2002 Pamela Tikellis, of CHIMICLES & TIKELLIS, Wilmington, Delaware; Joseph A. Rosenthal, Carrnella P. Keener, of ROSENT…
County
Court Of Chancery, DE
Filed Date
May 02, 2002
