How Major Changes to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Will Impact Business Litigation -
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure govern all civil litigation in the federal courts. Recent major amendments to these rules—which became effective December 1, 2015—will impact the scope and cost. The amendments highlight the importance of electronic discovery in litigation, and reflect an effort on the part of the drafters to reduce its burden and cost. The result of the amendments, however, may lead to increased costs in the initial stages of litigation, given new rules that shift certain actions to earlier in the proceeding. The ultimate impact of these new rules will become clearer as courts apply and interpret them. Courts that have dealt with the new rules so far, have, by and large, found that they do not radically alter the nature of discovery in the federal courts. Still, several changes are particularly notable and discussed below.
Litigants Will Need to Mobilize Resources More Quickly
Several amendments are aimed at reducing delay in the early stages of litigation. First, Rule 4(m) has been revised to reduce the time to serve a defendant with the summons and complaint from 120 to 90 days. Similarly, the time in which a court must issue a scheduling order is reduced to 90 days (from 120 days) after any defendant has been served, or 60 days (from 90 days) after any defendant has appeared. These changes will require litigants to gear up quickly once a complaint is filed and served.
bz
Please see full publication below for more information.
