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Supreme Court Refines Rule On Failure To Follow Scheduling Order

Posted In Discovery

The Delaware Supreme Court has issued 4 opinions that significantly refine the rules set out only 2 years ago in the Drejka decision on when a case may be dismissed for failing to meet the timetable in a scheduling order.  See Christian v. Counseling Resource Associates Inc., No. 460, 2011 (January 2, 2013);    Hill v. DuShuttle, No. 381, 2011 (January 2, 2013);   Adams v Aidoo, No. 177, 2012 (January 2, 2013) and Keener v. Isken, No. 609, 2011 (January 2, 2013). The Christian decision is perhaps the most significant.  From now on, if a party fails to meet a deadline for discovery, the opposing party will be precluded from objecting unless the opposing counsel alerts the Court to the failure and asks for formal relief.  Note that the Supreme Court's wording is very broad because it says that the first failure to object to a delay means the opposing party has "waived the right to contest any late filings by opposing counsel from that time forward." Literally then, all future delays are waived.  This seems too broad to be taken literally. For example, a failure to object to a 2 day delay on a minor matter should not preclude a failure later to provide an expert report.  Nonetheless, the current, somewhat lax, informal extensions are now a thing of the past.

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