Discovery Meet-and-Confer Letter

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 ☐ E-portal Service

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

Re: [Case Name], [Court Name], Case No. [________________________________]
Re: 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. This letter is not a discovery deficiency letter. Its purpose is to establish a cooperative discovery framework, ensure compliance with Florida's 2025 discovery rule amendments, and address anticipated discovery issues before any disputes arise.

Florida's 2025 Discovery Amendments — Critical Background:

Effective January 1, 2025, the Florida Supreme Court adopted sweeping amendments to the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure that fundamentally changed Florida's discovery landscape:

• Rule 1.280 now requires mandatory initial disclosures within 60 days after service of the complaint or joinder.
• A party may not seek discovery from any source before its initial disclosures are served, unless authorized by stipulation or court order.
• The proportionality standard from Federal Rule 26(b)(1) is now incorporated into Rule 1.280.
• Rule 1.200 requires judges to issue Case Management Orders (CMOs) with specific deadlines for discovery, motions, and trial.

We request that you schedule this conference promptly given the 60-day initial disclosure deadline.

CURRENT CASE POSTURE

• Date Complaint Filed: [__/__/____]
• Date of Service of Complaint: [__/__/____]
• Initial Disclosure Deadline (60 days from service): [__/__/____]
• 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)

Under Florida Rule 1.280 as amended effective January 1, 2025, each party must serve initial disclosures within 60 days after service of the complaint (or within 30 days if the action is removed to federal court). Initial disclosures must include:

1. Names, addresses, and telephone numbers of each person likely to have discoverable information, and the subjects of that information;
2. A copy — or description by category and location — of documents that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses;
3. A computation of each category of damages claimed, including the documents on which the computation is based; and
4. Any insurance policy that may satisfy part or all of a judgment.

IMPORTANT: Under the June 15, 2025 amendment to Rule 1.280(f), a party may not seek discovery from any source before its initial disclosures are served, 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 the status of your client's initial disclosures immediately, as this affects the ability to commence any discovery.

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

Under Rule 1.200, the court will issue a Case Management Order setting specific deadlines. We should discuss the anticipated CMO deadlines and ensure our discovery plan aligns with them.

☐ 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 (Florida Rule 1.700 — mediation often required before trial)
☐ Whether early disposition motions are anticipated

D. Scope and Proportionality of Discovery (Rule 1.280)

Rule 1.280 now requires that discovery 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/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
☐ Required fields: date, author, recipient, subject, privilege basis, document type
☐ 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 limits interrogatories to 30 per party. Depositions are limited by court order in the CMO. RFPs are not subject to an express numerical limit, but proportionality applies.

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

H. Deposition Scheduling and Logistics

☐ Priority witnesses: [________________________________]
☐ Remote depositions (permitted under Florida rules): ☐ Agreed ☐ Not agreed
☐ 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 of subpoenas: [____] days

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.

Given that Rule 1.280 prohibits seeking discovery before initial disclosures are served, timely compliance is essential to avoid any 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:

☐ Florida Courts E-Filing Portal
☐ 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 2025 Amendments to Rules of Civil Procedure: https://www.rumberger.com/insights/a-new-era-of-litigation-the-florida-supreme-courts-2025-amendments-to-the-rules-of-civil-procedure/
• Florida Rule 1.280 (As Amended 2025): https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm
• Florida Supreme Court 2025 Discovery Amendments: https://ortegagroup.law/the-discovery-process-transformed-2025-amendments-to-the-florida-rules-of-civil-procedure/
• Florida Rules of Civil Procedure: https://www.floridabar.org/