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Navigating The Nascent 'Accessibility' Standards

By David Isom and Dean A. Gonsowski
May 30, 2006

The proposed amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which the Supreme Court approved in April, are certain to bring a sea change in the way modern litigation is conducted.

Now that we are less than 6 months away from the promulgation of the rules (Dec. 1), judges and practitioners alike are already referring to the new guidelines as they try to navigate the wide-reaching uncharted waters of electronic discovery. The amendment that portends the farthest-reaching changes is proposed Rule 26(b)(2)(B), which states:

A party need not provide discovery of electronically stored information from sources that the party identifies as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. On motion to compel discovery or for a protective order, the party from whom discovery is sought must show that the information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. If that showing is made, the court may nonetheless order discovery from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause, considering the limitations of Rule 26(b)(2)(C). The court may specify conditions for the discovery.

It's time to look to the future and determine how the 'accessibility' standard will play out in the real world. This article offers a framework for the requesting parties and the responding parties as they attempt to address the new accessibility rules for discovery of electronically stored information in civil litigation.

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