Arizona State Court Request for Production of Documents

IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA

IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF [____________]

CASE NO.: [____________]

(Assigned to the Hon. [____________])

Discovery Tier: ☐ Tier 1 ☐ Tier 2 ☐ Tier 3

[PROPOUNDING PARTY]'S FIRST REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS TO [RESPONDING PARTY]

TO: [RESPONDING PARTY NAME], and its attorney(s) of record, [OPPOSING COUNSEL NAME].

Pursuant to Rule 34 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, [PROPOUNDING PARTY] ("Requesting Party") requests that [RESPONDING PARTY] ("Responding Party") produce and permit the inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of the documents, electronically stored information ("ESI"), and tangible things described below, each of which is in the possession, custody, or control of the Responding Party and within the scope of discovery under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(b).

Time for Response. Unless the parties agree or the court orders otherwise, a written response is required within thirty (30) days after service of this Request. Subject to compliance with Rule 26(f)(1) by the party serving discovery, a defendant may serve its responses and any objections within sixty (60) days after service — or execution of a waiver of service — of the summons and complaint. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(3)(A).

Place and Manner of Production. Unless otherwise agreed, production shall be made at the offices of [REQUESTING PARTY'S COUNSEL, ADDRESS], or by delivery of legible copies (including electronic copies) to the undersigned, on or before the response date. The Responding Party may, in lieu of permitting inspection, serve copies of the responsive documents and ESI.

I. DEFINITIONS

The following definitions apply to each Request and are deemed incorporated into each numbered Request below.

1. "Document" is used in the broadest sense permitted by Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34 and includes any writing, drawing, graph, chart, photograph, sound recording, image, and other data or data compilation stored in any medium from which information can be obtained, translated if necessary into reasonably usable form. The term includes originals, drafts, and non-identical copies bearing any notation or marking.

2. "Electronically Stored Information" or "ESI" means any information created, stored, or utilized in digital or electronic form, including email, text and instant messages, word-processing files, spreadsheets, databases, calendars, voicemail, metadata, server and cloud-based data, social-media content, and any associated system or application data.

3. "Communication" means any transmission of information of any kind, whether oral, written, or electronic, including letters, memoranda, emails, text messages, notes, and records of telephone or in-person conversations.

4. "You," "Your," and "Responding Party" mean [RESPONDING PARTY NAME], including responsive materials held by another person to the extent they are within that party's possession, custody, or control.

5. "Person" means any natural person, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, governmental entity, or other organization.

6. "Relating to," "relate to," or "concerning" means referring to, describing, evidencing, constituting, comprising, reflecting, discussing, mentioning, supporting, or contradicting, in whole or in part.

7. "The Action" means the above-captioned lawsuit.

8. "Relevant Period" means the period from [__/__/____] through the present, unless otherwise specified in a particular Request.

9. "Identify" (with respect to a Document) means to state its title or description, date, author(s), recipient(s), and present custodian or location.

II. INSTRUCTIONS

1. Manner of Production. Produce each responsive Document as it is kept in the usual course of business, or organize and label the Documents to correspond with the categories in these Requests. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34(b).

2. Format of ESI. Produce ESI in the form(s) specified below. If no form is specified, or if You object to a requested form, You must produce ESI in native form or in another reasonably usable form that will enable the Requesting Party to have the same ability to access, search, and display the information as the Responding Party, and must state the form(s) You intend to use. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(3)(D)-(E). Absent good cause, a party need not produce the same ESI in more than one form.

3. Scope and Proportionality. Each Request seeks materials within the scope of Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) — i.e., any nonprivileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case, considering the importance of the issues at stake, the amount in controversy, the parties' relative access to relevant information, the parties' resources, the importance of the discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the burden or expense of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit.

4. Tiered Discovery Limits. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26.2(f) permits five (5) Rule 34 requests per side in Tier 1 and ten (10) per side in each of Tiers 2 and 3. This draft contains ten requests. For a Tier 1 case, delete at least five before service and count any earlier Rule 34 requests served by the same side. To obtain additional discovery, follow Rule 26.2(g): file a qualifying stipulation or move for an order before serving an over-limit request. A compliant filed stipulation authorizes the agreed additional discovery without a court order, subject to the court's power to disapprove it.

5. Privilege or Work Product. If You withhold information, a Document, or ESI on a claim of privilege or work-product protection, promptly identify it in writing and describe its nature sufficiently for the other parties to assess the claim without disclosing protected information, as required by Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(6)(A). The parties may stipulate to, or the court may order, alternate requirements, including identification by category. Please include available date, author, recipient, and general-subject information when needed to assess the claim.

6. Objections. For each item or distinct category, the response must either state that inspection will be permitted as requested or state the grounds for objecting with specificity, including the reasons. An objection must state whether any responsive materials are being withheld on the basis of that objection. A party objecting to part of a Request must specify the objectionable part and permit inspection of the other requested materials. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(3).

7. Documents No Longer in Your Possession. If any responsive Document was, but is no longer, in Your possession, custody, or control, identify the Document, state its disposition, and identify its present custodian.

8. Duty to Supplement. You must timely supplement or correct a response that You learn is materially incomplete or incorrect when the corrective information has not otherwise been disclosed during discovery or in writing, as required by Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(g).

9. Failure to Respond. If You fail to respond or to permit inspection as requested, the Requesting Party may move for an order compelling production under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 37(a), after the required good-faith consultation.

III. REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION

Request No. 1

All Documents and Communications relating to [SUBJECT MATTER / TRANSACTION / EVENT AT ISSUE] during the Relevant Period.

Request No. 2

All contracts, agreements, amendments, addenda, and related drafts between You and [____________] relating to [SUBJECT MATTER].

Request No. 3

All Communications between You and [OPPOSING PARTY / NAME] concerning the subject matter of the Action, including all email, text messages, and letters.

Request No. 4

All Documents that You contend support, evidence, or relate to the allegations, claims, or affirmative defenses asserted by You in the Action.

Request No. 5

All Documents that refer or relate to the formation, performance, breach, or termination of the [AGREEMENT / RELATIONSHIP] at issue.

Request No. 6

All financial records relating to the damages claimed in the Action, including invoices, statements, ledgers, accounting records, and records of payment, for the period [__/__/____] through [__/__/____].

Request No. 7

All Documents supporting Your computation of damages (or, if You are the Responding Party defending the claim, all Documents that refute or mitigate the damages alleged), including the method of calculation and underlying data.

Request No. 8

All ESI — including email, text messages, and electronic files — relating to [SUBJECT MATTER], produced in [SPECIFIED FORM] under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34(b). Preserve and include these metadata fields if they exist and are relevant to the claims or defenses: [IDENTIFY FIELDS].

Request No. 9

All insurance agreements under which any person carrying on an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment in the Action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment, together with any reservation-of-rights or coverage-position correspondence.

Request No. 10

All photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, diagrams, or other visual or tangible depictions relating to the [INCIDENT / PROPERTY / CONDITION] at issue.

IV. NOTE ON RESPONSE DEADLINE, SCOPE, AND TIERED LIMITS

Unless the parties agree or the court orders otherwise, a written response to this Request is due within thirty (30) days after service; a defendant may serve responses and objections within sixty (60) days after service (or waiver of service) of the summons and complaint, subject to compliance with Rule 26(f)(1) by the party serving discovery. Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34(b)(3)(A). Each response must, as to each item or distinct category, either state that inspection will be permitted as requested or state the grounds for objecting with specificity. All Requests are limited to nonprivileged matter relevant to any party's claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1), and the number of Requests is subject to the tiered limits of Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26.2.

V. SIGNATURE

Respectfully submitted this ____ day of ______________, 20____.

___________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for [PROPOUNDING PARTY]
[State Bar of Arizona No. ________]
[Firm Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Phone] | [Email]

VI. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this ____ day of ______________, 20____, I served a true and correct copy of the foregoing [PROPOUNDING PARTY]'S FIRST REQUEST FOR PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS upon all counsel of record (or upon unrepresented parties) by a method authorized under Ariz. R. Civ. P. 5, as follows:

☐ Transmission through an electronic filing service provider approved by the Administrative Office of the Courts to an attorney of record
☐ Email to the address(es) listed below, with the recipient's written consent or under a court order
☐ U.S. Mail, first-class, postage prepaid
☐ Hand delivery
☐ Other: [____________]

Addressed to:

[OPPOSING COUNSEL / PARTY NAME]
[Street Address]
[City, State ZIP]
[Email]

___________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME]
Attorney for [PROPOUNDING PARTY]

SOURCES & REFERENCES

• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 34 — Producing Documents, ESI, and Tangible Things, or Entering Onto Land (response within 30 days; defendant 60 days after service/waiver of summons and complaint, subject to Rule 26(f)(1); ESI in native or reasonably usable form).
• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1) — Scope of discovery; relevance and proportionality.
• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(6) — Claims of privilege; assessable description of withheld materials, subject to permitted alternative requirements.
• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 26.2 — Tiered Limits to Discovery Based on Attributes of Cases (Tier 1: 5 Rule 34 requests per side; Tiers 2 and 3: 10 per side; over-limit procedure under 26.2(g)).
• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 33 — Interrogatories to Parties (companion written-discovery device).
• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 37 — Failure to Make Disclosures or to Cooperate in Discovery; Sanctions; motion to compel under Rule 37(a).
• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 45 — Subpoena; production by nonparties.
• Ariz. R. Civ. P. 5 — Serving and Filing Pleadings and Other Papers.
• Arizona Judicial Branch, Rules of Civil Procedure: https://www.azcourts.gov/rules