How to Avoid the Death of Your Case by Two Billion Paper Cuts: Encouraging Arbitration as an Alternative Way to Resolve Costly Discovery Disputes

Authors

Tzipora Goodfriend-Gelernter

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This article analyzes the costly effect of electronic information on discovery practice and advocates for the arbitration of discovery disputes. Part II discusses the background of electronic discovery, the evolution of our reliance on ESI (electronically stored information) as part of our modern day discovery practice, and the benefits and detriments of electronic discovery. Part III discusses the effects of our reliance on electronic discovery and the implications of those effects on litigating parties. It examines how the increasingly computer-based world of discovery has increased the cost of litigation disputes significantly and proposes using the patent arbitration model as a blueprint for a discovery dispute arbitration scheme. Part IV studies the impact that the ability to arbitrate discovery disputes would have on parties and courts alike. Lastly, Part V advocates for the use of mandatory binding arbitration as an alternative cost-effective way for the courts and the litigating parties to determine the outcome of their discovery disputes.

Recommended Citation

Tzipora Goodfriend-Gelernter, How to Avoid the Death of Your Case by Two Billion Paper Cuts: Encouraging Arbitration as an Alternative Way to Resolve Costly Discovery Disputes, 13 Pepp. Disp. Resol. L.J. Iss. 2 (2013)
Available at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/drlj/vol13/iss2/2