Fourth District Court of Appeals Case: Preventing Abusive Discovery

Are you engaged in a West Palm Beach probate dispute or will contest?   Have you and your opponent began discovery? You may be realizing that discovery can be broad and burdensome. Do you know how to get a court to agree with you and stop abusive discovery practices? You and yourPalm Beach litigator may want to read this case out of the Fourth District Court of Appeal to learn when an appeal is appropriate if you feel discovery procedures are being abused.

West Palm Beach Discovery

• A lot of times clients think that just because something is inadmissible in court that it is also not subject to discovery.Do you know the difference between being “discoverable” and “admissible?”
• If the other side asks you to give them a letter you wrote to the decedent saying that it could never be admissible is not going to do much.
• In Florida civil and probate courts anything that is relevant and not subject to a privilege is discoverable.
• So discoverable is a broader term than admissible, but what does relevant mean?
• Something is relevant if it makes some material part of the case more or less likely.
• Experienced West Palm Beach probate lawyers know that discovery is often used to intimate and burden parties, and that this violates the rules of professional conduct.
• Have you been served with overly broad and burdensome discovery requests?
• Has your Palm Beach litigator told you how to remedy this?
• You may want to motion the court for a protective order.
• What happens when the Court refuses your protective order?
• Did you know that you might be able to appeal?

Estevez v. Estevez: Abusive Discovery Appeals

• Normally only final orders are appealable but experienced Palm Beach probate attorneys know that if a court deviates from the law to a certain degree then something known as an extraordinary writ of certiorari may be appropriate.
• Do you know what this does?
• An appellate court will look over the denial (or approval) of your motion for a protective order to see if the trial court abused its discretion.
• Did the trial court abuse its discretion when it denied the request for a protective order in a divorce proceeding?
• Do you think that a husband who lost his divorce trial has a right to not be deposed in aide of executing the judgment?
• In other words does the wife have a right to ask him where the assets are?
• The trial court thought that she had such a right, and so did the appeals court, thus denying the writ.
• What do you think?
• Are you prepared to use these discovery related remedies when the other side is trying to use discovery to intimidate or over work you?
• Did you know you might be able to recoup costs related to such unnecessary expenditures?

Want to learn even more?

Check out the entire case by clicking here.