What is the scope of discovery under Rule 26(b)(1)?

• A. All matters regardless of relevance.
• B. Non-privileged matter relevant to a claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case.
• C. Only documents produced by parties.
• D. Privilege only.

Answer: (B)

Rule 26(b)(1) allows discovery of non-privileged information that is relevant to a claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case. In practice, this means information that could reasonably lead to admissible evidence, not everything about every topic. The information must be non-privileged, so privileged materials (like certain attorney-client communications or work product in many circumstances) are protected. The proportionality requirement, added by the 2015 amendments, requires courts to weigh factors such as the importance of the issues, the amount in controversy, the parties’ resources, the availability of other means to obtain the information, and whether the burden or expense of the proposed discovery is out of proportion to the likely benefit. Discovery can reach beyond documents produced by the parties to include other sources (witnesses, ESI, third-party materials), as long as the information sought is relevant and proportional and not protected by privilege.