Discovery Deficiency Meet-and-Confer Letter - Wisconsin

DISCOVERY DEFICIENCY MEET-AND-CONFER LETTER

Wisconsin — Wis. Stat. § 804.12

[LAW FIRM NAME]
[Street Address]
[City, WI ZIP]
Tel: [____________________] | Fax: [____________________]
[Email Address]

Date: [__/__/____]

VIA: ☐ Email ☐ Certified Mail ☐ Hand Delivery ☐ Overnight Courier

[Opposing Counsel Name]
[Law Firm Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Re: [Plaintiff] v. [Defendant], [Circuit Court], [County] County, Wisconsin
Case No.: [________________________________]
Subject: Discovery Deficiencies — Request to Confer Before Motion Practice

Dear [Opposing Counsel Name]:

We write on behalf of [Client Name] ("our client") to discuss the discovery deficiencies identified below before considering a motion to compel under Wis. Stat. § 804.12(1)(a). Please identify any applicable court order requiring a pre-motion conference.

This letter identifies specific deficiencies in the discovery responses served by [Responding Party] on [__/__/____] and requests a conference to resolve them. If they are not cured by the deadline below, we may seek an order compelling answers under Wis. Stat. § 804.12(1)(a) and applicable expenses under § 804.12(1)(c).

Current-law check: Before sending, confirm the governing discovery order and any applicable transition rule. Current Wis. Stat. § 804.08(1)(am) limits interrogatories to a reasonable number, no more than 25 including all subparts, absent stipulation or order. Section 804.01(2)(e)1r governs the ESI conference described below.

I. WISCONSIN DISCOVERY FRAMEWORK — KEY STATUTES

Wisconsin 25-Interrogatory Limit: Under current Wis. Stat. § 804.08(1)(am), each party is limited to a reasonable number of requests, no more than 25 interrogatories, including all subparts, absent stipulation or court order consistent with § 804.01(2).

Older Cases: Confirm the governing rule set and any court order before applying current limits to an older action.

ESI Conference Requirement: Under Wis. Stat. § 804.01(2)(e)1r, before a § 804.09 ESI production request or a § 804.08(3) ESI-production response, parties must confer about the listed subjects unless the court excuses the conference.

II. DEFICIENCIES IN INTERROGATORY RESPONSES

Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 804.08, [Responding Party]'s interrogatory answers served on [__/__/____] contain the following deficiencies:

Specific Interrogatory Deficiencies:

1. Interrogatory No. [____]: [Describe specifically. E.g., "Your answer says 'see documents produced' without identifying the records as required if Wis. Stat. § 804.08(3) is the basis for answering from business records. Please identify the records in sufficient detail for us to locate them as readily as you could."]

2. Interrogatory No. [____]: [Describe. E.g., "Your objection that this interrogatory is 'overbroad' does not explain in what respect it is overbroad or what information you would be willing to provide. Please withdraw the objection and answer fully, or propose a specific narrowing."]

3. Interrogatory No. [____]: [Describe.]

III. DEFICIENCIES IN REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION RESPONSES

Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 804.09, [Responding Party]'s responses to Requests for Production served on [__/__/____] contain the following deficiencies:

Specific RFP Deficiencies:

1. RFP No. [____]: [Describe specifically.]

2. RFP No. [____]: [Describe.]

3. RFP No. [____]: [Describe.]

IV. DEFICIENCIES IN REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION RESPONSES

Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 804.11, [Responding Party]'s responses to Requests for Admission served on [__/__/____] contain the following deficiencies:

V. ESI CONFERENCE — Wis. Stat. § 804.01(2)(e)1r

Under Wis. Stat. § 804.01(2)(e)1r, parties must confer before serving a § 804.09 ESI production request or responding to an interrogatory under § 804.08(3) by producing ESI, unless excused by the court. The conference addresses:

☐ The subjects on which discovery of ESI may be needed
☐ When discovery should be completed
☐ Preservation of ESI
☐ The form in which ESI should be produced
☐ The method for asserting and preserving privilege claims as to ESI
☐ The cost of the proposed ESI discovery and any proposed limits

Status of ESI conference: ☐ Not yet held — schedule if the statutory trigger applies and the court has not excused it
☐ Held on [__/__/____] but the following issues remain unresolved: [________________________________]

Specific ESI deficiencies:
☐ ESI not produced in the requested or applicable default form (Wis. Stat. § 804.09(2)(b))
☐ Metadata required by the request, agreement, or order is missing from produced ESI
☐ Document families separated in production
☐ Other: [________________________________]

VI. PRIVILEGE OR PROTECTION DISPUTE

We dispute the following privilege or trial-preparation objection: [IDENTIFY REQUEST, RESPONSE, AND REASON]. Section 804.01(2)(e) addresses ESI discovery and does not itself prescribe a privilege-log format. If an order or agreement requires a log, identify it here: [AUTHORITY]. The description supplied under that authority:

☐ Has not been provided.
☐ Has been provided but is deficient as follows:

☐ Does not identify the date of each withheld document
☐ Does not identify the author(s)
☐ Does not identify all recipients
☐ Does not specify the privilege type claimed (attorney-client, work product, other)
☐ Does not describe subject matter with sufficient specificity
☐ Improperly withholds documents outside the scope of any privilege
☐ Other: [________________________________]

Please supply the explanation or description required by the identified authority by [__/__/____].

VII. GENERAL OBJECTIONS — WISCONSIN LAW

Identify each challenged objection and explain why it does not answer the request or state a sufficient reason:

☐ A general objection appears without an identified application to a specific request.
☐ An "overly broad" or "unduly burdensome" objection does not explain its application to this request.
☐ A proportionality objection under Wis. Stat. § 804.01(2)(a) warrants a request-specific discussion of burden and likely benefit.
☐ The stated privilege objection does not explain its basis; identify the request and response.
☐ Other: [________________________________]

VIII. LOCAL COURT CONSIDERATIONS

Wisconsin circuit courts in certain counties may have local rules or practices supplementing the discovery statutes. Please confirm compliance with:

☐ Milwaukee County: Check Milwaukee County Circuit Court local rules and judge-specific standing orders.
☐ Dane County (Madison): Check Dane County Circuit Court local rules and standing orders.
☐ Waukesha County: Check Waukesha County local rules.
☐ Brown County (Green Bay): Check Brown County local rules.
☐ Other county: [________________________________]

IX. MEET-AND-CONFER AVAILABILITY

We propose a conference before filing a motion to compel under Wis. Stat. § 804.12(1)(a). We propose the following times:

☐ [Day, Date] at [____] a.m./p.m. Central Time
☐ [Day, Date] at [____] a.m./p.m. Central Time
☐ [Day, Date] at [____] a.m./p.m. Central Time

Contact: [Attorney Name], [Phone Number], [Email]

If we do not receive a response within [____] business days, we may file a motion to compel after checking any applicable court order governing pre-motion conferences.

X. DEADLINE FOR SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSES

Please provide the corrective responses, production, and any privilege description required by an identified order or agreement no later than:

[__/__/____]

We may grant a brief extension for good cause upon timely request.

XI. SANCTIONS WARNING — Wis. Stat. § 804.12

Wis. Stat. § 804.12(1)(c) sets expense rules if a motion to compel is granted or denied. A granted motion may result in reasonable expenses, including attorney fees, after an opportunity for hearing, unless the opposition was substantially justified or other circumstances make an award unjust. The court may also apportion expenses if a motion is granted in part and denied in part.

Wis. Stat. § 804.12(2) provides additional sanctions for failure to comply with a court order:

☐ Order establishing designated facts as true for purposes of the action
☐ Order prohibiting the disobedient party from supporting or opposing claims or introducing certain evidence
☐ Order striking pleadings in whole or in part
☐ Order staying proceedings until the order is obeyed
☐ Order dismissing the action or any part thereof
☐ Order entering default judgment against the disobedient party
☐ Order treating noncompliance as contempt of court

The sanctions in § 804.12(2) depend on failure to obey a discovery order and the court's assessment of the circumstances.

XII. LITIGATION HOLD REMINDER

Please confirm that [Responding Party] maintains a litigation hold covering:

☐ Email and electronic communications from all relevant custodians
☐ Text messages and instant messages (Slack, Teams, WhatsApp, etc.)
☐ Physical documents and paper records
☐ Financial records and databases
☐ Cloud storage (SharePoint, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.)
☐ Social media accounts
☐ Call logs and voicemail records

If any relevant evidence has been lost or destroyed, please disclose this in writing immediately.

XIII. RESERVATION OF RIGHTS

Our client reserves all rights, claims, and defenses. Nothing in this letter constitutes a waiver of any right, claim, or defense, or an admission of any fact or legal conclusion.

We look forward to your prompt response.

Sincerely,

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name], Esq.
[WI Bar No.: ____________________]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address]
[Phone]
[Email]
Counsel for [Party Name]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____], a true copy of this letter was served upon the following counsel of record by the method indicated:

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

☐ Electronic Mail
☐ First-Class U.S. Mail, postage prepaid
☐ Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested
☐ Hand Delivery
☐ Overnight Courier

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]
Date: [__/__/____]

Sources and References:

• Wisconsin Statutes ch. 804 — Discovery: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/804.pdf