Also known as: undue burden · undue cost · undue hardship
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard applied in discovery disputes under which a party need not produce electronically stored information or other materials when the burden or expense of production outweighs the likely benefit. The standard also governs work-product protection and subpoena enforcement by requiring a showing of substantial need that cannot be met without undue hardship before compelled disclosure occurs. Courts may issue protective orders or quash subpoenas when compliance would impose such a burden or cost.
Ulysses Usher sought internal investigation notes prepared by Utopia Pharmaceuticals' counsel after a product liability suit was filed. The company refused production. Ulysses showed he could not obtain equivalent facts from other sources without significant additional expense and delay. The court ordered production because the materials were not protected once substantial need without undue hardship was established.
Ulf Ulfsson, a mid-level manager at Unison Media, spoke with in-house counsel about licensing disputes at the direction of his supervisor. The opposing party sought the resulting memos. The court held the communications privileged because they were made to secure legal advice and the work-product doctrine applied absent a showing of substantial need without undue hardship.
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Ugo Ucelli operated a factory and faced a discovery request from Ursula Upton in a neighboring farm nuisance suit. Ursula sought extensive emission records. Ugo showed the production would require hiring consultants at high cost. The court denied the request because it would impose undue burden or cost.
Ultimate Solutions identified old backup tapes containing relevant sales data as not reasonably accessible. The requesting party moved to compel. Ultimate Solutions demonstrated the retrieval would require specialized consultants and weeks of effort at high cost. The court denied the motion absent a showing of good cause.
Ulric Unger moved for a protective order against a request for ten years of email archives from Ultrasonic Dynamics. The company showed the search would require reviewing millions of messages at substantial expense. The court limited the request to a narrower time frame to avoid undue burden or expense.
Uma Upadhyay received a subpoena demanding production of extensive customer records held by her small business. Compliance would have required hiring temporary staff and halting operations for several days. The court quashed the subpoena because it subjected her to undue burden.
A party must demonstrate both substantial need for the materials to prepare its case and inability to obtain their substantial equivalent by other means without undue hardship. This showing is required under Rule 26(b)(3)(A)(ii) before a court will order production of work product.
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A party need not produce ESI from sources identified as not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost. The responding party must make that showing on a motion to compel, after which the court may still order production for good cause under Rule 26(b)(2)(B).
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A court must quash or modify a subpoena that subjects a person to undue burden under Rule 45(d)(3)(A)(iv). The issuing party or attorney also has a duty under Rule 45(d)(1) to avoid imposing such burden or expense.
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Yes. Under Rule 26(c)(1), a court may issue a protective order for good cause to protect a party from undue burden or expense, including by limiting the scope or terms of discovery after the parties have conferred in good faith.
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…the District Court agreed, and concluded that Washington's assisted-suicide ban is unconstitutional because it "places an undue burden on the exercise of [that] constitutionally protected liberty interest." The District Court also decided that the Washington statute violated the Equal Protection Clause's requirement that…