§ Rule 34 Production of documents and things-Entry upon land
Rule 34. Production of documents and things--Entry upon land
(a) Production of documents, electronically stored information, things, and entry upon land for inspection and other
purposes--Scope. Any party may serve on any other party a request (1) to produce and permit the party making the request, or someone acting on the party's behalf, to inspect and copy, any designated documents (including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, phonorecords, and other data compilations from which information can be obtained, translated, if necessary, by the respondent through detection devices into reasonably usable form), or to inspect and copy, test, or sample any tangible things including electronic and data storage devices in any medium which constitute or contain matters within the scope of Rule 26(b) and which are in the possession, custody or control of the party upon whom the request is served; or (2) to permit entry upon designated land or other property in the possession or control of the party upon whom the request is served for the purpose of inspection and measuring,
surveying, photographing, testing, or sampling the property or any designated object or operation thereon, within the scope of Rule 26(b).
(b) Procedure.
(1) The request may, without leave of court, be served upon the plaintiff after commencement of the action and upon any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint upon that party. The request shall set forth the items to be inspected either by individual item or by category, and describe each item and category with reasonable particularity. The request shall specify a reasonable time, place, and manner of making the inspection and performing the related acts. To obtain discovery of data or information that exists in electronic or data storage devices in any medium, the requesting party must specifically request production of such data and specify the form or manner of delivery in which the requesting party wants it produced.
(2) The party upon whom the request is served shall serve a written response within 30 days after the service of the request. The response shall state, with respect to each item or category, that inspection and related activities will be permitted as requested, unless the request is objected to, in which event any reasons for objection shall be stated. If objection is made to part of an item or category, the part shall be specified. As to electronic or data storage devices in any medium, the responding party must produce the data that is responsive to the request and is reasonably available to the responding party in its ordinary course of business. If the responding party cannot through reasonable efforts retrieve the data or information requested or produce it in the form requested, the responding party must state an objection complying with these rules. The party submitting the request may move for an order under Rule 37(a) with respect to any objection to or other failure to respond to the request or any part thereof, or any failure topermit inspection as requested. If the court orders the responding party to comply with the request, the court may also order that the requesting party pay the reasonable expenses of any extraordinary steps required to retrieve and produce the information.
(3) The request for production, the response thereto, and all or any documents produced pursuant to this Rule shall not be filed with the court. The party demanding an inspection or production shall retain both the original of the inspection or production demand, with the original proof of service affixed to it, and the original response, until one (1) year after final disposition of the action. At that time, both originals may be destroyed, unless the court, on motion of any party and for good cause shown, orders that the originals be preserved for a longer period.
(c) Persons Not Parties. This rule does not preclude an independent action against a person not a party for production of documents and things and permission to enter upon land.
(d) Notice of Filing and Notice of Compliance. The party serving requests for production of documents shall file with the court a notice stating when and on whom such request was served. The party responding to a request for production of documents may file with the court a notice stating when and on whom the response was served, or otherwise indicating that there has been compliance with the request.
The rule headings for Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure have been editorially supplied.