Loc. R. Civ. P. 26 — General Rules Governing Discovery
A published court requirement that applies in New York. Category: Local Rules. Effective January 15, 2026. Verified against the official source (W.D.N.Y. — Rules: Individual, Local & Federal (U.S. District Court, Western District of New York)) on November 3, 2026.
Summary
Loc. R. Civ. P. 26 — General Rules Governing Discovery: the court's own rule, verbatim from the Local Rules of Civil Procedure, United States District Court for the Western District of New York, effective January 15, 2026 (official PDF, sha-custodied). Court-level requirement: applies in every civil case before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York, alongside the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the rules are numbered to conform to them) and any judge-specific procedures.
Requirement
(a) Rule 26(f) Discovery Conference. The parties shall confer about all of the matters contemplated by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) and Loc. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(3), unless the case is excepted from this requirement by Loc. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(1). (b) Form of Interrogatories, Requests to Produce or Inspect, and Requests for Admission. The parties shall sequentially number each interrogatory or discovery request. In addition to service pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5, the party to whom interrogatories or discovery requests are directed shall, whenever practicable, be supplied with an electronic courtesy copy of the served document in a word processing format. In answering or objecting to interrogatories or discovery requests the responding party shall first state verbatim the propounded interrogatory or request, and immediately thereafter the answer or objection. (c) Uniform Definitions for all Discovery Requests. (1) The full text of the definitions and rules of construction set forth in subsections (3) and (4) is deemed incorporated by reference into all discovery requests. No discovery request shall use broader definitions or rules of construction than those set forth in subsections (3) and (4). This rule shall not preclude (a) the definition of other terms specific to the particular litigation, (b) the use of abbreviations, or (c) a more narrow definition of a term defined in subsection (3). (2) This rule is not intended to broaden or narrow the scope of discovery permitted by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (3) The following definitions apply to all discovery requests: (A) Communication. The term “communication” means the transmittal of information (in the form of facts, ideas, inquiries or otherwise). (B) Document. The term “document” is defined to be synonymous in meaning and equal in scope to the usage of this term in Fed. R. Civ. P. 34(a), including, without limitation, electronic or computerized data compilations. A draft or non-identical copy is a separate document within the meaning of this term. (C) Identify (with respect to persons). When referring to a person, “to identify” means to give, to the extent known, the person’s full name, present or last known address, and when referring to a natural person, the present or last known place of employment. Once a person has been identified in accordance with this subsubsection, only the person’s name need be listed in response to subsequent discovery requesting the identification of that person. (D) Identify (with respect to documents). When referring to documents, “to identify” means to give, to the extent known, the (i) type of document; (ii) general subject matter; (iii) date of the document; and (iv) author(s), addressee(s), and recipients(s). (E) Parties. The terms “plaintiff” and “defendant,” as well as a party’s full or abbreviated name or a pronoun referring to a party, mean the party and, where applicable, its officers, directors, employees, partners, corporate parent, subsidiaries, or affiliates. This definition is not intended to impose a discovery obligation on any person who is not a party to the litigation. (F) Person. The term “person” is defined as any natural person or any business, legal or governmental entity, or association. (G) Concerning. The term “concerning” means relating to, referring to, describing, evidencing or constituting. (4) The following rules of construction apply to all discovery requests: (A) And/Or. The connectives “and” and “or” shall be construed either disjunctively or conjunctively as necessary to bring within the scope of the discovery request all responses that might otherwise be construed to be outside of its scope. (B) Number. The use of the singular form of any word includes the plural and vice versa. (d) Assertion of Claim of Privilege. (1) Where a party asserts a claim of privilege in objecting to any means of discovery or disclosure, and withholds otherwise responsive information based on that assertion: (A) the party asserting the privilege shall identify the nature of the privilege (including work product) being claimed and, if the privilege is governed by state law, indicate the state’s privilege rule being invoked; and (B) shall provide the following information, unless to divulge such information would cause disclosure of the allegedly privileged information: (i) for documents: (a) the type of document, i.e., letter or memorandum; (b) the general subject matter of the document; (c) the date of the document; and (d) such other information as is sufficient to identify the document for a subpoena duces tecum, including, where appropriate, the author of the document, the addressees of the document, and any other recipients shown in the document, and, where not apparent, the relationship of the author, addressees, and recipients to each other; (ii) for oral communications: (a) the names of the person making the communication and the person(s) present while the communication was made and, where not apparent, the relationship of the person making the communication to the person(s) present; (b) the date and place of communication; and (c) its general subject matter. (2) Where the claim of privilege is asserted in response to discovery or disclosure other than at a deposition, the information set forth in subsection (1) shall be furnished in writing when the party responds to such discovery or disclosure, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. (3) Where the claim of privilege is asserted during a deposition, the information set forth in subsection (1) shall be furnished: (a) at the deposition, to the extent it is readily available from the witness being deposed or otherwise, and (b) to the extent it not readily available, in writing within fourteen (14) days after the privilege is asserted, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. (4) Efficient means of providing information regarding claims of privilege are encouraged, and parties are encouraged to agree upon measures that further this end. For example, when asserting privilege on the same basis with respect to multiple documents, it is presumptively proper to provide the information required by this rule by group or category. A party receiving a privilege log that groups documents or otherwise departs from a document-by-document or communication-by-communication listing may not object solely on that basis, but may object if the substantive information required by this rule has not been provided in a comprehensible form. (e) Electronically Stored Information. Discovery of relevant electronically stored information shall proceed as follows: (1) After receiving requests for document production, the parties shall search their documents, including ESI other than ESI that has been identified as not reasonably accessible, and produce relevant responsive ESI in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(2). (2) Searches and production of ESI identified as not reasonably accessible shall not be required to be conducted until the initial disclosure of reasonably accessible ESI has been completed. Requests for information expected to be found in ESI that is not reasonably accessible must be narrowly focused with some basis in fact supporting the request, and good cause must be provided. The party seeking such discovery may be required to pay all or a portion of the costs of search, retrieval, review, and production of the information, upon application to the Court. (3) Search Methodology. If a party intends to employ an electronic search to locate relevant ESI, the parties shall discuss and attempt to reach agreement as to the method of searching, and the words, terms, and phrases to be searched and any restrictions as to scope and method which might affect their ability to conduct a complete electronic search of the ESI. The parties shall also attempt to reach agreement as to the timing and conditions of any additional searches which may become necessary in the normal course of discovery. To minimize undue expense, the parties may consider limiting the scope of the electronic search (i.e., time frames, fields, document types). (4) Costs. Generally, the costs of discovery, other than the costs associated with ESI that is not reasonably accessible, shall be borne by each party. However, the Court will apportion the costs of discovery or presentation of ESI, including discovery of ESI that is not reasonably accessible, upon a showing of good cause, or unequal burdens, or unreasonable request. (f) Non-filing of Discovery Materials. Parties shall comply with Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(d)(1), except that in cases involving an incarcerated pro se litigant, all discovery materials must be filed with the Court pursuant to Loc. R. Civ. P. 5.2(f). (g) Cooperation Among Counsel in the Discovery Context. See the Civility Principles and Guidelines of the United States District Court for the Western District of New York which can be found on the Court’s website, http://www.nywd.uscourts.gov.
Source of truth
(a) Rule 26(f) Discovery Conference. The parties shall confer about all of the matters contemplated by Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(f) and Loc. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(3), unless the case is excepted from this requirement by Loc. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(1). (b) Form of Interrogatories, Requests to Pr
- Official source
- W.D.N.Y. — Rules: Individual, Local & Federal (U.S. District Court, Western District of New York)
- Source health
- Healthy · checked November 14, 2026
- Effective date
- January 15, 2026
- Last verified
- November 3, 2026benchpath-nyfed-rules-2026-11-03
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