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 ☐ OJD eFiling

[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 40. 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 (as amended effective August 1, 2025), a party filing a motion related to ORCP 21, 23, 36-46, or 55 must confer in good faith with opposing counsel before filing the motion.

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: Parties may obtain discovery of any non-privileged matter relevant to the subject matter of the action, including: depositions, production of documents/ESI/things, physical and mental examinations, and requests for admission.
• ORCP 36 B(5): A party claiming privilege must expressly assert it and describe the nature of withheld documents in sufficient detail to permit assessment of the claim.
• ORCP 36 B(6): Parties have a duty to supplement discovery responses when the response is incomplete or incorrect.
• ORCP 43 A: A party may serve a demand for production of documents, ESI, or things. The responding party must respond within 30 days.
• ORCP 43 B — 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 any ORCP 43-related motion.
• ESI must be produced in the form in which it is ordinarily maintained or a reasonably usable form.
• ORCP 40 — Requests for Admission: A party may request admissions of fact. Unanswered requests are deemed admitted under ORCP 40 A.
• ORCP 46 A(1): A party may move for an order compelling discovery if a party fails to respond or provides incomplete responses.
• ORCP 46 A(2): A motion to compel must include certification that the movant made a good faith effort to confer with the non-compliant party before seeking court action.
• ORCP 46 A(4): If a motion to compel is granted, the court shall require the non-compliant party or attorney to pay the movant's reasonable expenses including attorney's fees, unless the failure was substantially justified.
• 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 available without a prior court order for complete failure to respond.
• UTCR 5.010 (2025): Conferral required before filing motions related to ORCP 21, 23, 36-46, and (as of August 1, 2025 amendment) ORCP 55 (subpoenas). The conference requirement is enforced.
• 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 40)

Pursuant to ORCP 40, the following admission responses are deficient:

V. PRIVILEGE LOG DEFICIENCIES

Under ORCP 36 B(5), any party withholding documents on privilege grounds must expressly assert the privilege and describe withheld documents in sufficient detail to permit assessment.

☐ No privilege log has been provided despite apparent withholding of documents.
☐ Privilege log is incomplete — missing: [________________________________]
☐ Specific privilege log entries lack required detail: [________________________________]

Required per privilege log entry:
- 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 B)

Under ORCP 43 B, parties must meet and confer within 21 days of a written request regarding ESI production. The parties must discuss:

☐ 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 as required by ORCP 46 A(2) and 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 shall require the non-compliant party or attorney to pay the movant's reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees, unless the failure 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 for complete failure to respond without a prior court order.

UTCR 5.010 / ESI-specific: Failure to comply in good faith with the ORCP 43 B ESI conferral requirement will be specifically considered by the court when ruling on any ESI-related discovery motion.

This letter documents our good-faith conferral effort under ORCP 46 A(2) and 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 ☐ OJD eFile

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]

Sources and References: Oregon Rules of Civil Procedure (ORCP 36, 40, 43, 46) (oregonlegislature.gov; oregon.public.law); UTCR 5.010 (conferral requirement, amended August 1, 2025 to add ORCP 55) (courts.oregon.gov); ORCP 43 B ESI conference and 21-day conferral requirement; ORCP 46 A(4) mandatory expense-shifting; OJD eFiling system (courts.oregon.gov/eFile).