MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Mike Hagburg
DATE: September 8, 2008
RE: Rule 26, N.D.R.Civ.P., General Provisions Governing Discovery
Staff has prepared amendments to Rule 26 based on the federal form and style amendments. The amendments are intended make the rule more easily understood and to make style and terminology consistent throughout the rules. The amendments also aim to modernize the rule, removing references to obsolete authority and practices.
Because North Dakota has declined to require mandatory disclosures, the federal rule and N.D.R.Civ.P. 26 have gone down different paths. Therefore, the Rule 26 proposal attached is not identical to the federal rule. Because Rule 26 is both a complicated and an important rule, the Committee may wish to devote special attention to examining the proposed amendments to make sure that no undesirable substantive changes have been made.