Discovery Meet-and-Confer Letter - Florida

DISCOVERY MEET-AND-CONFER LETTER

(Initial Planning Conference Request — Pre-Dispute)

State of Florida

[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. [________________________________]
Subject: Discovery Planning Conference — Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.200 and 1.280

Dear [Opposing Counsel Name]:

PURPOSE OF THIS LETTER

We write on behalf of our client, [________________________________], to request a discovery planning conference in the above-referenced matter. Its purpose is to establish a cooperative discovery plan and address anticipated issues before disputes arise.

Current Florida Discovery Rules:

• For actions subject to initial disclosures, Rule 1.280(a)(3) requires them within 60 days after service of the complaint or joinder unless the court sets another time. Rule 1.280(a)(2) lists exempt actions and claims.
• In actions with initial disclosures, Rule 1.280(f)(1) restricts a party from seeking discovery before serving its disclosures, unless a stipulation or court order authorizes it.
• Rule 1.280(c)(1) limits discovery to nonprivileged matter relevant to a party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case.
• Rule 1.200 governs case management for covered civil actions, with exemptions in subsection (a); Rule 1.201 governs cases designated complex.

Please schedule this conference promptly so the parties can address any applicable disclosure deadline and case management order.

CURRENT CASE POSTURE

• Date Complaint Filed: [__/__/____]
• Date of Service of Complaint: [__/__/____]
• Initial Disclosure Deadline (if applicable; account for court order): [__/__/____]
• Date Answer Filed: [__/__/____]
• Case Management Conference Date: [__/__/____]
• Trial Period: [__/__/____]
• Track Assignment: ☐ Streamlined ☐ General ☐ Complex (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.201)

SECTION 1: INITIAL DISCLOSURES STATUS (FLA. R. CIV. P. 1.280)

For a nonexempt Florida civil action, Rule 1.280(a)(3) requires each party to serve initial disclosures within 60 days after service of the complaint or joinder unless the court sets a different time. Rule 1.280(a)(1) requires, unless privileged or protected:

1. Names and known contact information for individuals likely to have discoverable information that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses, and the subjects of that information;
2. A copy or description by category and location of documents, ESI, and tangible things that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses;
3. A computation for each category of damages claimed and supporting material, subject to Rule 1.280(a)(1)(C)'s treatment of noneconomic damages; and
4. A copy of an applicable insurance policy or agreement under Rule 1.280(a)(1)(D).

Under Rule 1.280(f)(1), a party subject to initial disclosures may not seek discovery before serving them, except by stipulation or court order.

☐ Party A has served initial disclosures on [__/__/____].
☐ Party A has not yet served initial disclosures — deadline is [__/__/____].
☐ Party B has served initial disclosures on [__/__/____].
☐ Party B has not yet served initial disclosures — deadline is [__/__/____].

Please confirm whether initial disclosures apply and, if so, their status.

SECTION 2: PROPOSED DISCOVERY CONFERENCE AGENDA

We propose the following agenda for the discovery planning conference:

A. Initial Disclosure Compliance and Coordination

☐ Confirm each party's initial disclosure deadline and status
☐ Discuss any anticipated supplemental disclosures under the continuing duty to supplement
☐ Agree on process for voluntary supplementation before formal requests
☐ Address any gaps in initial disclosures informally

B. Case Management Order (CMO) Compliance — Rule 1.200

For a case covered by Rule 1.200, the court issues a case management order with specific deadlines. For complex cases, Rule 1.201 supplies additional requirements. We should align the discovery plan with the applicable order.

☐ Completion of fact discovery: [__/__/____]
☐ Expert disclosures (initial / rebuttal): [__/__/____] / [__/__/____]
☐ Filing of summary judgment motions: [__/__/____]
☐ Resolution of all objections to pleadings: [__/__/____]
☐ ADR/mediation deadline: [__/__/____]
☐ Pretrial conference: [__/__/____]

C. Claims, Defenses, and Settlement Possibilities

☐ Summary of each party's principal claims and defenses
☐ ADR and mediation under the case management order or a court referral, if applicable
☐ Whether early disposition motions are anticipated

D. Scope and Proportionality of Discovery (Rule 1.280)

Rule 1.280(c)(1) requires discovery to be proportional to the needs of the case considering: (1) importance of the issues at stake; (2) amount in controversy; (3) parties' relative access to relevant information; (4) parties' resources; (5) importance of discovery to resolving issues; and (6) whether burden or expense outweighs likely benefit.

☐ Relevant time period: [________________________________]
☐ Key custodians: [________________________________]
☐ Whether phased discovery is appropriate: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Proportionality issues to address proactively: [________________________________]

E. Electronically Stored Information (ESI) Protocol

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

F. Privilege Log and Protective Order

☐ Privilege log format: ☐ Document-by-document ☐ Categorical
☐ Proposed fields: date, author, recipient, subject, privilege basis, document type (to the extent needed to assess the claim without revealing protected content)
☐ Inadvertent disclosure/clawback: ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Protective order: ☐ Yes ☐ No — deadline to file: [__/__/____]
☐ Sensitive categories: ☐ Trade secrets ☐ PHI ☐ Personnel records ☐ Financial records ☐ Other: [________________________________]

G. Discovery Limits and Scheduling

Florida Rule 1.340(a)(3) limits interrogatories to 30, including all subparts, absent court permission. Confirm any deposition or production-request limits in the case management order; Rule 1.350 has no fixed numerical request cap, but Rule 1.280(c)(1)'s proportionality limit applies.

☐ Interrogatory limit: ☐ Default (30) ☐ Modified: [____]
☐ Deposition limit: per CMO or stipulation: [____] fact depositions per side
☐ RFP limit: ☐ No additional numerical limit in current order ☐ Agree on: [____]
☐ Expert depositions: [____] per side
☐ Discovery cutoff: [__/__/____]

H. Deposition Scheduling and Logistics

☐ Priority witnesses: [________________________________]
☐ Remote depositions by communication technology under Rule 1.310(b)(7): ☐ Stipulated ☐ Seek court order
☐ Corporate representative (Rule 1.310(b)(6)): ☐ Yes ☐ No
☐ Videotaped depositions: ☐ Yes ☐ No

I. Third-Party Discovery

☐ Anticipated third-party subpoenas (Fla. R. Civ. P. 1.351): ☐ Yes (identify: [________________________________]) ☐ No
☐ Advance notice for nonparty production without deposition under Rule 1.351(b): [____] days (at least 10 after delivery or email notice, or 15 after mail notice; check the rule's original-process branch)

J. Preservation and Litigation Hold

☐ Confirm each party has a litigation hold in place.
☐ Identify data sources subject to auto-deletion.
☐ Agreement to notify before modifying any preservation hold.

SECTION 3: PROPOSED DATES FOR CONFERENCE

We are available on the following dates:

Option 1: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (ET)
Option 2: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (ET)
Option 3: [__/__/____] at [____]:00 [____]M (ET)

Preferred format: ☐ Telephone ☐ Zoom/Video ☐ In person at: [________________________________]

SECTION 4: 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 modifications to the agenda; and
3. Advise on the status of your client's initial disclosures under Rule 1.280.

If initial disclosures apply, Rule 1.280(f)(1) affects when a party may seek discovery. Timely compliance will help avoid disruption to the discovery schedule.

Respectfully submitted,

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

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on [__/__/____], a true and correct copy of the foregoing was served upon opposing counsel by:

☐ Electronic mail to: [________________________________]
☐ 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 Agreement
☐ Attachment D — Proposed Discovery Timeline

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, October 1, 2026 publication: https://www-media.floridabar.org/uploads/2026/10/Civil-Procedure-Rules-10-01-26.pdf