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Repetitive Stress: How New Jersey Courts Handle Common Discovery Disputes Between Policyholders and Insurers

By Paul Alp
January 05, 2006

Rita: Have you ever had d'j'-vu??

Phil: Didn't you just ask me that?

Attorneys litigating insurance coverage disputes may find themselves feeling like Bill Murray's character Phil Connors in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day, given the rate at which various types of conflicts repeat themselves, often involving a recurring casts of characters. In particular, discovery disputes between policyholders and insurers often involve the same categories of discovery that policyholders seek from insurers and which insurers frequently refuse to provide. This is no less true in New Jersey, which remains a popular forum for the filing of coverage actions. This article discusses categories of discovery sought by policyholders from insurers that commonly give rise to motion practice and how New Jersey courts have resolved such disputes.

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