Discovery Meet-and-Confer Letter - Arizona

DISCOVERY MEET-AND-CONFER LETTER

(Rule 16(b) Early Meeting Request)

State of Arizona

[LAW FIRM LETTERHEAD]
[Firm Name]
[Address Line 1]
[Address Line 2]
[City, State, ZIP]
[Phone] | [Fax] | [Email]

[__/__/____]

VIA: ☐ Email ☐ U.S. Mail ☐ Overnight Courier ☐ Hand Delivery

[Opposing Counsel Name]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address Line 1]
[Address Line 2]
[City, State, ZIP]

Re: [Case Name], [Court Name], Case No. [________________________________]
Re: Request for Rule 16(b) Early Meeting — Ariz. R. Civ. P. 16(b), 16(c), and 26.1

Dear [Opposing Counsel Name]:

PURPOSE OF THIS LETTER

We write on behalf of our client, [________________________________], to arrange the Early Meeting required by Arizona Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) in the above-referenced matter. This letter is not a discovery deficiency letter. Its purpose is to coordinate the parties' Joint Report, proposed Scheduling Order, disclosures, and proportional discovery plan before disputes arise.

Applicability check: Rule 16(c)(8) exempts several specified civil actions from the Early Meeting and Joint Report requirements. Compulsory-arbitration actions under Rule 72(b) still require the Early Meeting but use a Report of Early Meeting instead of a Rule 16(c) Joint Report and proposed Scheduling Order. Confirm this case's track and any case-specific order before using the deadlines below: [TRACK / ORDER].

Arizona's discovery rules are noteworthy in several respects:

1. Mandatory Disclosure (Rule 26.1): Unless the parties agree or the court orders otherwise, a party seeking affirmative relief generally must serve initial disclosures no later than 30 days after the first responsive pleading to its claim, and a responding party generally must serve initial disclosures no later than 30 days after filing its responsive pleading.

2. Tiered Case Management: Arizona cases are assigned to tiers (Tier 1, 2, or 3) by stipulation or motion, court placement, or the relief sought. The assigned tier significantly affects discovery limits and scheduling. We should confirm the appropriate tier at the Early Meeting.

3. Rule 16(b) Early Meeting: At the earliest practicable time—but no later than 30 days after a party files an answer or a motion directed at the complaint, or 120 days after the action commences, whichever occurs first—that party and the plaintiff must meet and confer about the anticipated course of the case. The parties generally file a Joint Report and proposed Scheduling Order within 14 days after the Early Meeting under Rule 16(c).

We propose scheduling the conference at your earliest convenience and submit the following agenda for your review.

CURRENT CASE POSTURE

• Date Complaint Filed: [__/__/____]
• Date first answer or motion directed at complaint was filed: [__/__/____]
• Date action commenced: [__/__/____]
• Rule 16(b) Early Meeting deadline (calculate both triggers; use the earlier): [__/__/____]
• Rule 16(c) Joint Report / proposed Scheduling Order deadline (generally 14 days after meeting): [__/__/____]
• Scheduled Preliminary Conference with Court: [__/__/____]
• Anticipated Trial Date: [__/__/____]
• Case Tier Assignment: ☐ Tier 1 ($50,000 or less in damages) ☐ Tier 2 (more than $50,000 but less than $300,000 in damages, or nonmonetary relief alone or with damages below $300,000) ☐ Tier 3 ($300,000 or more in damages) ☐ Different tier assigned by court or applicable exception ☐ To be determined

For a commercial-court case, Rule 8.1(e) deems it Tier 3 until the commercial court assigns a different tier after the Rule 16(d) scheduling conference.

SECTION 1: MANDATORY DISCLOSURE STATUS (ARIZ. R. CIV. P. 26.1)

Arizona Rule 26.1 requires prompt disclosure without awaiting a discovery request. Unless the parties agree or the court orders otherwise, apply the 30-day timing rules described above. Each party must disclose, as applicable:

(a) The factual and legal basis of each claim and defense;
(b) The required information about expected trial witnesses, other persons believed to have relevant knowledge, and expected expert witnesses and opinions;
(c) The identity of persons who have given relevant statements and the custodians of those statements;
(d) The existence, location, custodian, and general description of relevant tangible evidence, documents, and ESI described in Rule 26.1(a);
(e) A computation and measure of each category of damages claimed, with the supporting documents and testimony;
(f) Relevant insurance agreements;
(g) Other information required by the applicable disclosure categories and scheduling order.

☐ Party A has served Rule 26.1 disclosures on [__/__/____].
☐ Party A has not yet served Rule 26.1 disclosures (anticipated by [__/__/____]).
☐ Party B has served Rule 26.1 disclosures on [__/__/____].
☐ Party B has not yet served Rule 26.1 disclosures (anticipated by [__/__/____]).

Please advise as to your client's disclosure timeline.

SECTION 2: PROPOSED DISCOVERY CONFERENCE AGENDA

We propose the following agenda for the Rule 16(b) Early Meeting:

A. Case Tier and Case Management Plan

☐ Confirm appropriate tier assignment under Arizona's tiered case management system
☐ Review discovery limits applicable to the assigned tier
☐ Discuss whether a joint motion to reassign tier is warranted
☐ Discuss structure of case management plan to be submitted to the court

B. Claims, Defenses, and Early Resolution

☐ Summary of each party's principal claims and defenses
☐ Identification of threshold legal issues
☐ ADR and mediation possibilities
☐ Whether early neutral evaluation or settlement conference would be productive

C. Scope and Proportionality of Discovery

☐ Relevant time period: [________________________________]
☐ Key custodians and data sources
☐ Whether discovery should be phased: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Proportionality factors: amount in controversy, importance of issues, parties' resources, burden

D. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Protocol

☐ ESI custodians per side (anticipated: [____])
☐ Data sources: ☐ Email ☐ Network/file shares ☐ Mobile/text ☐ Cloud storage ☐ Databases ☐ Social media ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Production format: ☐ Native ☐ TIFF with load file ☐ PDF ☐ Other: [________________________________]
☐ Metadata fields required: [________________________________]
☐ De-duplication approach: [________________________________]
☐ Proposed search terms — exchange by [__/__/____]
☐ Collection date range: from [__/__/____] to [__/__/____]
☐ Stipulated ESI protocol: ☐ To be negotiated ☐ Propose joint stipulation

E. Privilege Log and Protective Order

☐ Privilege log format: ☐ Document-by-document ☐ Categorical
☐ Proposed privilege-description fields: date, author, recipient, subject, document type, privilege asserted, as needed to assess a claim under Rule 26(b)(6)(A)
☐ Inadvertent disclosure / clawback agreement: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Protective order: ☐ Yes ☐ No — Maricopa County form or custom?
☐ Deadline to file proposed protective order: [__/__/____]
☐ Sensitive categories: ☐ Trade secrets ☐ PHI ☐ Personnel records ☐ Financial records ☐ Other: [________________________________]

F. Discovery Limits by Tier

Arizona discovery limits vary by tier:

• Tier 1: 5 total hours of fact-witness depositions, 5 interrogatories, 5 RFPs, 10 RFAs per side; 120 days for discovery
• Tier 2: 15 total hours of fact-witness depositions, 10 interrogatories, 10 RFPs, 10 RFAs per side; 180 days for discovery
• Tier 3: 30 total hours of fact-witness depositions, 20 interrogatories, 10 RFPs, 20 RFAs per side; 240 days for discovery

☐ Agreed limits for this case (if different from tier defaults):

• Fact-deposition hours: [____] per side
• Interrogatories: [____] per side
• Requests for Production: [____] per side
• Requests for Admission: [____] per side
  ☐ Discovery cutoff: [__/__/____]
  ☐ Expert disclosures: initial [__/__/____] / rebuttal [__/__/____]

G. Deposition Scheduling and Logistics

☐ Priority fact depositions: [________________________________]
☐ Preferred locations: [________________________________]
☐ Remote depositions: ☐ Agreed ☐ Not agreed ☐ Case-by-case
☐ 30(b)(6) designations anticipated: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Deposition sequencing: [________________________________]

H. Third-Party Discovery

☐ Anticipated third-party subpoenas: ☐ Yes (identify: [________________________________]) ☐ No
☐ Notice of third-party subpoenas: [____] days agreed

I. Preservation

☐ Confirm each party has a litigation hold in place.
☐ Identify data sources subject to automated deletion or archiving.
☐ Agreement to provide advance notice before modifying any preservation hold.

J. Supplementation

Arizona Rule 26.1(f)(2) requires additional or amended disclosures in a timely manner and no later than 30 days after new information is revealed or discovered, with earlier disclosure when relevant to a hearing or deposition scheduled sooner. Discuss the supplementation process going forward.

SECTION 3: PROPOSED DATES FOR CONFERENCE

We are available on the following dates:

Option 1: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (MST/AZ Time)
Option 2: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (MST/AZ Time)
Option 3: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (MST/AZ Time)

Preferred format: ☐ Telephone ☐ In person at: [________________________________]

SECTION 4: CASE MANAGEMENT PLAN SUBMISSION

Following the Rule 16(b) Early Meeting, the parties generally must file a Joint Report and proposed Scheduling Order within 14 days under Rule 16(c). Rule 84 Forms 11, 12, and 13 correspond to Tiers 1, 2, and 3. Check the Rule 16(c)(8) exceptions; compulsory-arbitration actions use a Report of Early Meeting. The Joint Report must certify good-faith conferral in person or by telephone under Rule 16(c)(2). The filings address tier confirmation, disclosure and discovery schedules, expert disclosures, dispositive-motion deadlines, ADR, and trial setting.

Drafting responsibility: ☐ Our firm ☐ Your firm ☐ Joint

SECTION 5: REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

Please respond no later than [__/__/____] ([____] days from the date of this letter) to:

1. Confirm availability for the discovery conference;
2. Propose any additions or modifications to the agenda; and
3. Advise on the status of your client's Rule 26.1 disclosures.

We look forward to cooperating with you on a sensible discovery plan.

Respectfully submitted,

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]
[Arizona State Bar Number: ____________________]
[Law Firm Name]
[Address]
[Phone] | [Email]
Counsel for [________________________________]

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that on [__/__/____], a copy of the foregoing was served by:

☐ Electronic mail to: [________________________________] (with the recipient's written consent or under a court order if Rule 5 service applies)
☐ U.S. First Class Mail, postage prepaid, to: [________________________________]
☐ Other: [________________________________]

[________________________________]
[Attorney Name]

ATTACHMENTS

☐ Attachment A — Proposed ESI Search Terms
☐ Attachment B — Draft Stipulated Protective Order
☐ Attachment C — Draft Clawback/Non-Waiver Agreement
☐ Attachment D — Draft Case Management Plan

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Arizona Supreme Court Order R-17-0010 (Rules 16, 26, 26.1, and 26.2): https://rulesforum.azcourts.gov/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/viewer.aspx?portalid=4&moduleid=9811&attachmentid=5495
• Arizona Supreme Court civil-rule amendment index: https://www.azcourts.gov/rules/recent-amendments/rules-of-civil-procedure