Glossary
Discovery
The stage of a lawsuit where the parties exchange documents, answer written questions, and take depositions.
Discovery is where most of the time and cost of litigation sits, and where most cases are effectively decided. Written interrogatories, requests for documents, requests for admission, and depositions all serve the same purpose: establishing what the evidence actually is before anyone stands up at trial.
It is also where cases become settleable. Parties tend to hold divergent views of a dispute until the documents are produced and the witnesses have answered questions under oath, at which point the range of realistic outcomes narrows.
Obligations run both ways, and they include preserving relevant material. Deleting documents or messages once a dispute is reasonably anticipated creates a separate and serious problem.
General information about Tennessee law, not legal advice. How this applies depends on the facts of your matter.
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