Current Approaches To 'Discovery On Discovery' Part II

Courts have recognized the perils of discovery on discovery and have sought to regulate the practice to prevent the "danger[s] of extending the already costly and time-consuming discovery process ad infinitum." Am. W. Bank Members, L.C., 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 218480, at *5. As a baseline, many courts have held that failure to show a "material deficiency" is grounds for denial of a request for discovery on discovery. Koninklijke Philips N.V. v. Hunt Control Sys., Inc., No. 11-cv-03684, 2014 WL 1494517, at *4 (D.N.J. Apr. 16, 2014); see also British Telecoms. PLC v. IAC/Interactivecorp, No. 18-366-WCB, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 37271, at *21 (D. Del. Mar. 4, 2020); Slocum v. Int'l Paper Co., No. 16-12563, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 231610, at *9-10 (E.D. La. Mar. 15, 2019). These courts have found that citation to a single isolated deficiency, without evidence that the opposing party failed to act in good faith, is insufficient to constitute a "material deficiency" warranting