MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Mike Hagburg
RE: Rule 33, N.D.R.Civ.P., Interrogatories to Parties; Rule 34, N.D.R.Civ.P., Production of Documents and Things and Entry upon Land for Inspection and Other Purposes
The U.S. Supreme Court has approved amendments to N.D.R.Civ.P. 33 and 34 that will take effect December 1 unless Congress intervenes. The amendments are part of a revision to the civil rules designed to address discovery of electronic materials.
A proposal for amendments to Rule 33 and 34 based on the federal amendments is attached.
The proposed change Rule 33 is limited to a reference to electronically stored information in subdivision (d). The explanatory note is also amended to include a note on the amendment.
The following changes to Rule 34 are proposed:
--Paragraph (a)(1) is amended to include references to testing and sampling electronically stored information from all possible storage media.
--Subdivision (b) is amended to include language allowing the requestor to specify the form in which electronically stored information is to be produced. It also includes new language allowing objections to such requests for specific form and instructions on how electronically stored information should be produced if the form is not specified.
Amendments are also proposed for the Rule 34 explanatory note. The proposed amendments explain the changes to the rule and also update the content of the explanatory note.