Discovery Deficiency Meet-and-Confer Letter - Oregon

DISCOVERY DEFICIENCY MEET-AND-CONFER LETTER

Oregon Circuit Court — ORCP 46

[FIRM NAME]
[Street Address]
[City, OR ZIP]
Tel: [____________________] | Fax: [____________________]
[Attorney Email Address]
Oregon Bar No.: [____]

Date: [__/__/____]

VIA: ☐ Email ☐ Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Overnight Courier

[Opposing Counsel Name]
[Law Firm Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
Email: [________________________________]
Oregon Bar No.: [____]

Re: [Plaintiff Name] v. [Defendant Name]
Court: [____] County Circuit Court
Case No.: [________________________________]
Judge: Hon. [________________________________]
Discovery Deficiency — Meet-and-Confer per ORCP 46 / UTCR 5.010

Dear [Opposing Counsel Name]:

We write pursuant to ORCP 46 and UTCR 5.010 to notify you of specific deficiencies in your client's discovery responses served on [__/__/____] and to document our good-faith effort to resolve these disputes before seeking court intervention.

Critical Oregon Practice Note: Oregon does NOT permit interrogatories to parties. Discovery in Oregon is conducted primarily through: (1) depositions on oral examination or written questions; (2) production of documents, ESI, and things under ORCP 43; (3) physical and mental examinations; and (4) requests for admission under ORCP 45. ORCP 43 governs document and ESI production — it is Oregon's primary substitute for federal interrogatory and document request procedures. Subpoenas for third-party discovery are governed by ORCP 55.

Under UTCR 5.010, a party moving under ORCP 36-46 must make a good-faith effort to confer before filing and file a certificate of compliance with the motion. The rule also covers specified ORCP 21, 23, and 55 motions.

I. TIMELINE OF DISCOVERY EVENTS

II. OREGON DISCOVERY RULES — CONTROLLING AUTHORITY

Important: Oregon's discovery system differs substantially from most states and the Federal Rules.

• No Interrogatories: Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure do not permit interrogatories to parties. ORCP 43 (document production) is Oregon's primary formal written discovery tool.
• ORCP 36 A and B(1): Rule 36 A lists discovery methods, including depositions, production and inspection, examinations, and requests for admission. Rule 36 B(1) limits inquiry to nonprivileged matter relevant to a party's claim or defense, subject to the rule's remaining provisions and court orders.
• ORCP 43 B(2)(d): A response to a production request must state any objection and the reason for it. Ask for enough information to evaluate any privilege objection without disclosing privileged content.
• ORCP 43 B(4): A party has a continuing duty to produce promptly responsive, unobjectioned-to items that later come into its possession, custody, or control.
• ORCP 43 A and B(2): A party may request production of documents, ESI, or things. A response is generally due within 30 days, subject to a court order or written agreement; a defendant cannot be required to produce before 45 days after service of summons unless the court orders a shorter time.
• ORCP 43 E — ESI Provisions:
• Either party may request a meeting to discuss ESI production scope and format.
• Within 21 days of the ESI meeting request, the parties must meet and confer about: ESI scope; data sources; form of production; cost; search terms; preservation; privilege; metadata; and other relevant issues.
• Failure to comply in good faith with the ESI conferral requirement will be considered by the court when ruling on a motion to compel or for a protective order related to ESI (ORCP 43 E(2)).
• If no form is specified, ESI must be produced in the form in which it is ordinarily maintained or a reasonably useful form under ORCP 43 E(1).
• ORCP 45 A-B — Requests for Admission: A party may request admissions of fact or other matters allowed by Rule 45 A. A matter is admitted unless a timely written answer or objection is served under Rule 45 B. The usual period is 30 days, but a defendant need not respond before 45 days after service of the summons and complaint unless the court shortens the time.
• ORCP 46 A(2)-(3): A party may move to compel specified discovery; an evasive or incomplete answer is treated as a failure to answer.
• UTCR 5.010(2), (4): The moving party must make a good-faith effort to confer before a discovery motion and file a certificate of compliance with the motion.
• ORCP 46 A(4): If a motion to compel is granted, the court may, after an opportunity for hearing, order payment of the movant's reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, unless the opposition was substantially justified or other circumstances make an award unjust.
• ORCP 46 B(2): Sanctions for violating a court discovery order include: establishing facts, evidence preclusion, striking pleadings, dismissal, and default judgment.
• ORCP 46 D: Sanctions may be available without a prior order for failure to attend a properly noticed deposition or to comply with or object to a properly served Rule 43 production or inspection request.
• UTCR 5.010 (2026): Good-faith conferral and a filed compliance certificate are required for discovery motions under ORCP 36-46. The rule also covers specified motions under ORCP 21, 23, and 55.
• Multnomah County Supplementary Local Rules (SLR): Additional requirements may apply in Multnomah County — check applicable SLRs.

III. DEFICIENCIES IN DOCUMENT/ESI PRODUCTION RESPONSES (ORCP 43)

Pursuant to ORCP 43, the following document and ESI production deficiencies must be cured:

Note: Oregon does not permit interrogatories. Deficiencies below concern ORCP 43 document and ESI demands only.

Notes:
[________________________________]
[________________________________]

IV. DEFICIENCIES IN REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION RESPONSES (ORCP 45)

Pursuant to ORCP 45, the following admission responses are deficient:

V. PRIVILEGE OBJECTION DETAILS

Under ORCP 43 B(2)(d), a response must state any objection to a production request and the reason for it. For a privilege objection, please identify the withheld material sufficiently to permit us to evaluate the objection without revealing privileged content.

☐ The privilege objection does not explain the reason for withholding: [________________________________]
☐ The parties agreed to exchange a privilege log, but it has not been provided.
☐ A provided privilege log lacks information needed to evaluate the objection: [________________________________]

Information requested for each withheld item, if available:

• Document date
• Author and all recipients
• General subject matter (without disclosing privileged content)
• Type of privilege (attorney-client / work product / other)
• Specific basis for the privilege

VI. ESI CONFERENCE REQUEST AND DEFICIENCIES (ORCP 43 E(2))

Under ORCP 43 E(2), parties must meet and confer within 21 days of a request for an ESI meeting, after all parties have appeared or given written notice of intent to appear. The conference may address:

☐ We formally request an ESI meet-and-confer conference within 21 days from the date of this letter, by [__/__/____], to address:

• ☐ Scope of ESI production
• ☐ Data sources to be searched (email servers, shared drives, individual custodian devices, cloud storage, text/messaging platforms)
• ☐ Form of production (native vs. TIFF/PDF; metadata requirements)
• ☐ Cost allocation for ESI production
• ☐ Search terms and methodology
• ☐ Preservation obligations
• ☐ Privilege issues relating to ESI
• ☐ Metadata to be included with production
• ☐ Other ESI issue: [________________________________]

☐ An ESI conference was held on [__/__/____]. The following agreed ESI production obligations have not been met: [________________________________]

VII. EXISTING OBJECTION DEFICIENCIES

The following objections to ORCP 43 production demands are improper and must be withdrawn or supplemented with production:

VIII. MULTNOMAH COUNTY LOCAL RULES (SLR)

☐ Not applicable — This case is not pending in Multnomah County.

☐ Applicable — This case is pending in Multnomah County. Please note:

• Applicable Multnomah County Supplementary Local Rules (SLR) may impose additional conferral or scheduling requirements.
• OJD eFiling is required for all court filings in Multnomah County.
• Contact the assigned judge's judicial assistant regarding any scheduling requirements for discovery motions: [________________________________]

IX. DEMAND FOR SUPPLEMENTATION

We demand complete supplemental discovery responses and production of all responsive documents and ESI no later than:

SUPPLEMENTATION DEADLINE: [__/__/____]

X. MEET-AND-CONFER AVAILABILITY

We are available to confer by telephone or in person under UTCR 5.010 (Pacific Time):

☐ [__/__/____] at [____] a.m./p.m.
☐ [__/__/____] at [____] a.m./p.m.
☐ [__/__/____] at [____] a.m./p.m.

Please confirm one of these times or propose alternatives by [__/__/____].

XI. SANCTIONS WARNING

ORCP 46 A(4) provides that if a motion to compel is granted, the court may, after an opportunity for hearing, require payment of the movant's reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, unless the opposition was substantially justified or other circumstances make an award unjust.

ORCP 46 B(2) authorizes courts to sanction violations of court discovery orders by:

• ☐ Establishing designated facts as proven against the non-compliant party
• ☐ Prohibiting the non-compliant party from supporting or opposing designated claims
• ☐ Striking pleadings in whole or in part
• ☐ Staying proceedings until compliance
• ☐ Dismissing the action or entering default judgment
• ☐ Contempt of court

ORCP 46 D permits sanctions without a prior court order for failure to attend a properly noticed deposition or to comply with or object to a properly served Rule 43 production or inspection request.

ORCP 43 E(2) — ESI conference: Failure to comply in good faith with the ESI conferral requirement will be considered by the court when ruling on a motion to compel or for a protective order related to ESI. UTCR 5.010 separately requires conferral and a certificate before the specified discovery motions.

This letter documents our good-faith conferral effort under UTCR 5.010. If full supplementation is not provided by [__/__/____], we will file a motion to compel without further notice.

XII. LITIGATION HOLD REMINDER

Please confirm your client maintains a litigation hold over all relevant ESI, emails, texts, shared drives, cloud storage, voicemail, and hard-copy documents. Failure to preserve relevant evidence may result in spoliation sanctions independent of ORCP 46 sanctions.

XIII. OJD EFILING NOTICE

Discovery motions in this court are filed via the Oregon Judicial Department eFiling system (OJD eFile). If we proceed to file a motion to compel, we will do so via OJD eFile. Please ensure your office is registered and capable of receiving eService through OJD eFile for all future filings in this matter.

XIV. REQUESTED RESPONSE

Please respond to this letter in writing by [__/__/____], confirming:

1. That you will provide complete supplemental responses by [__/__/____]; or
2. The specific factual and legal bases for your position that each challenged response is adequate; and
3. Your availability for the ESI conference requested herein (if applicable).

Sincerely,

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name], Oregon Bar No. [____]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address]
[Phone] | [Email]
Counsel for [Party Name]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____], a copy of this letter was served on:

[Opposing Counsel Name], [Law Firm Name], [Address], [Email]

Method: ☐ Email ☐ Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Facsimile

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]

Sources and References: Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (ORCP 36, 43, 45, 46): https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/SiteAssets/ORCP.html; UTCR 5.010 (conferral and certification): https://www.courts.oregon.gov/rules/UTCR/2026_UTCR.pdf; ORCP 43 E(2) (ESI conference); ORCP 46 A(4) (discretionary expenses); OJD eFiling system (courts.oregon.gov/eFile).