Also known as: motions to compel disclosure · compel disclosure · motion to compel
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A procedural device by which a party seeks a court order requiring an opposing party to provide information or materials required by the rules of discovery. The motion is available when a party fails to make a disclosure required by Rule 26(a). The moving party must certify a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute before filing.
Marathon Logistics refused to produce archived server logs in response to Meridian Motors' discovery request, claiming the data resided on legacy systems that would require expensive restoration. Meridian Motors filed a motion to compel disclosure and presented evidence that the information was relevant to contract performance claims. The court reviewed whether the burden justified withholding the data and considered ordering production with cost shifting.
Matthew Martinez sued his former employer after termination and the company moved to compel arbitration under the employment contract. Martinez responded with a motion to compel disclosure of the full arbitration agreement and related employee handbooks to challenge enforceability. The court ordered production to assess whether the agreement met fairness requirements.
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Ming Ma sought internal communications from Matrix Technologies during discovery in a contract action. Matrix Technologies withheld documents on attorney-client privilege grounds and provided only a general description. Ma filed a motion to compel disclosure, arguing the privilege log was insufficient to evaluate the claim.
Marcus Mitchell, a reporter, received a subpoena for notes from interviews in a civil suit. He moved for a protective order while the plaintiff filed a competing motion to compel disclosure of the materials. The court balanced the need for the information against potential harm from compelled production.
Mohan Malhotra sought to block disclosure of internal investigation materials in a whistleblower case. After the district court granted the opposing party's motion to compel disclosure, Malhotra pursued an immediate appeal. The appellate court examined whether the order satisfied the requirements for immediate review.
Melanie Morris filed suit against her employer despite an arbitration clause in her employment contract. The employer moved to compel arbitration, and Morris countered with a motion to compel disclosure of the full arbitration procedures and fee arrangements. The court ordered limited disclosure to determine whether the clause was enforceable.
The moving party must certify that it made a good faith attempt to resolve the dispute with the opposing party without court intervention. This certification is required under the applicable discovery rules.
A party need not produce electronically stored information from sources identified as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. The responding party bears the burden of showing inaccessibility, after which the requesting party may still obtain an order by demonstrating good cause.
If a party fails to comply with a court order granting a motion to compel, the court may impose sanctions including costs, attorney fees, or more severe penalties such as striking pleadings or entering default judgment. No sanctions apply if the failure was substantially justified.
…unavailability by other means than was made by the Government or applied by the Magistrate in this case would be necessary to compel disclosure. Since the Court of Appeals thought that the work-product protection was never applicable in an enforcement proceeding such as this, and since the Magistrate whose recommendations the…