W.R.C.P.Ch.C. 26

(a) Required Disclosures.

(1) Initial Disclosure.

(A) In General. Except as exempted by Rule 26(a)(1)(B) or as otherwise

stipulated or ordered by the chancery court, a party must, without

awaiting a discovery request, provide to the other parties, but not file with

the chancery court, unless otherwise ordered by the chancery court or

required by other rule:

(i) the name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each

individual likely to have discoverable information--along with the sub-

jects of that information--that the disclosing party may use to support

its claims or defenses, unless the use would be solely for impeachment;

(ii) a copy--or a description by category and location--of all documents,

electronically stored information, and tangible things that the disclosing

party has in its possession, custody, or control and may use to support its

claims or defenses, unless the use would be solely for impeachment;

(iii) a computation of each category of damages claimed by the

disclosing party-- who must also make available for inspection and

copying as under Rule 34 the documents or other evidentiary material,

unless privileged or protected from disclosure, on which each computation is based, including materials bearing on the nature and extent of

injuries suffered; and

(iv) for inspection and copying as under Rule 34, any insurance

agreement under which an insurance business may be liable to satisfy

all or part of a possible judgment in the action or to indemnify or

reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment.

(B) Proceedings Exempt from Initial Disclosure. The following proceedings are exempt from initial disclosure:

(i) a forfeiture action in rem arising from a Wyoming statute;

(ii) an action brought without an attorney by a person in the custody

of the State, county, or other political subdivision of the State;

(iii) a proceeding ancillary to a proceeding in another court; and

(iv) an action to enforce an arbitration award.

(1.1) Initial disclosures in divorce actions. Not Applicable.

(1.2) Initial disclosures in custody and support actions where the parties

are not married. Not Applicable.

(1.3) Timing of disclosures; requirement to disclose. Unless a different

time is set by stipulation in writing or by chancery court order, these

disclosures pursuant to 26(a)(1) shall be made within 30 days after a party’s

answer is required to be served under Rule 12(a) or as that period may be

altered as described in Rule 12(a) by the party’s service of a dispositive

motion as described in Rule 12(b). Any party later served or otherwise joined

must make these disclosures within 30 days after being served or joined

unless a different time is set by stipulation in writing or by chancery court

order. A party must make its initial disclosures based on the information

then reasonably available to it. A party is not excused from making its

disclosures because it has not fully investigated the case or because it

challenges the sufficiency of another party’s disclosures or because another

party has not made its disclosures.

(2) Disclosure of Expert Testimony.

(A) In addition to the disclosures required by paragraph (1), a party

must disclose to the other parties the identity of any witness it may use at

trial to present evidence under Wyoming Rule of Evidence 702, 703, or 705.

(B) Witnesses Who Must Provide a Written Report. Unless otherwise

stipulated or ordered by the chancery court, if the witness is one retained

or specially employed to provide expert testimony in the case or one whose

duties as the party’s employee regularly involve giving expert testimony,

this disclosure must be accompanied by a written report prepared and

signed by the witness or a disclosure signed by counsel for the party. The

report must contain:

(i) a complete statement of all opinions the witness will express and

the basis and reasons for them;

(ii) the facts or data considered by the witness in forming them;

(iii) any exhibits that will be used to summarize or support them;

(iv)

the witness’s qualifications, including a list of all publications

authored in the previous 10 years;

(v) a list of all other cases in which, during the previous four years,

the witness testified as an expert at trial or by deposition; and

(vi) a statement of the compensation to be paid for the study and

testimony in the case.

(C) Witnesses Who Do Not Provide a Written Report. Unless otherwise

stipulated or ordered by the chancery court, if the witness is not required

to provide a written report, this disclosure must state:

(i) the subject matter on which the witness is expected to present

evidence under Wyoming Rule of Evidence 702, 703, or 705; and

(ii) a summary of the facts and opinions to which the witness is

expected to testify.

(D) Time to Disclose Expert Testimony. A party must make these

disclosures at the times and in the sequence that the chancery court

orders. Absent a stipulation or a chancery court order, the disclosures

must be made:

(i) at least 90 days before the date set for trial or for the case to be

ready for trial; or

(ii) if the evidence is intended solely to contradict or rebut evidence on

the same subject matter identified by another party under Rule

26(a)(2)(B) or (C), within 30 days after the other party’s disclosure.

(E) Supplementing the Disclosure. The parties must supplement these

disclosures when required under Rule 26(e).

(3) Pretrial Disclosures.

(A) In General. In addition to the disclosures required by Rule 26(a)(1)

and (2), a party must provide to the other parties and promptly file the

following information about the evidence that it may present at trial other

than solely for impeachment:

(i) the name and, if not previously provided, the address and telephone number of each witness--separately identifying those the party

expects to present and those it may call if the need arises;

(ii) the designation of those witnesses whose testimony the party

expects to present by deposition and, if not taken stenographically, a

transcript of the pertinent parts of the deposition; and

(iii) an identification of each document or other exhibit, including

summaries of other evidence--separately identifying those items the

party expects to offer and those it may offer if the need arises.

(B) Time for Pretrial Disclosures; Objections. Unless the chancery court

orders otherwise, these disclosures must be made at least 30 days before

trial. Within 14 days after they are made, unless the chancery court sets

a different time, a party may serve and promptly file a list of the following

objections: any objections to the use under Rule 32(a) of a deposition

designated by another party under Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(ii); and any objection,

together with the grounds for it, that may be made to the admissibility of

materials identified under Rule 26(a)(3)(A)(iii). An objection not so made--

except for one under Wyoming Rule of Evidence 402 or 403--is waived

unless excused by the chancery court for good cause.

(4) Form of Disclosures. Unless the chancery court orders otherwise, all

disclosures under Rule 26(a)(1), (2), or (3) must be in writing, signed, and

served.

(b) Discovery Scope and Limits.

(1) Scope in General. Unless otherwise limited by chancery court order,

the scope of discovery is as follows: Parties may obtain discovery regarding

any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense and

proportional to the needs of the case, considering the importance of the

issues at stake in the action, the amount in controversy, the parties’ relative

access to relevant information, the parties’ resources, the importance of the

discovery in resolving the issues, and whether the burden or expense of the

proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit. Information within this

scope of discovery need not be admissible in evidence to be discoverable.

(2) Limitations on Frequency and Extent.

(A) When Permitted. By order, the court may alter the limits in these

rules on the number of depositions and interrogatories or on the length of

depositions under Rule 30. By order, the chancery court may also limit the

number of requests under Rule 36.

(B) Specific Limitations on Electronically Stored Information. A party

need not provide discovery of electronically stored information from

sources that the party identifies as not reasonably accessible because of

undue burden or cost. On motion to compel discovery or for a protective

order, the party from whom discovery is sought must show that the

information is not reasonably accessible because of undue burden or cost.

If that showing is made, the chancery court may nonetheless order

discovery from such sources if the requesting party shows good cause,

considering the limitations of Rule 26(b)(2)(C). The court may specify

conditions for the discovery.

(C) When Required. On motion or on its own, the court must limit the

frequency or extent of discovery otherwise allowed by these rules or by the

chancery court if it determines that:

(i) the discovery sought is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative, or

can be obtained from some other source that is more convenient, less

burdensome, or less expensive;

(ii) the party seeking discovery has had ample opportunity to obtain

the information by discovery in the action; or

(iii) the proposed discovery is outside the scope permitted by Rule

26(b)(1).

(3) Trial Preparation: Materials.

(A) Documents and Tangible Things. Ordinarily, a party may not

discover documents and tangible things that are prepared in anticipation

of litigation or for trial by or for another party or its representative

(including the other party’s attorney, consultant, surety, indemnitor,

insurer, or agent). But, subject to Rule 26(b)(4), those materials may be

discovered if:

(i) they are otherwise discoverable under Rule 26(b)(1); and

(ii) the party shows that it has substantial need for the materials to

prepare its case and cannot, without undue hardship, obtain their

substantial equivalent by other means.

(B) Protection Against Disclosure. If the chancery court orders discovery of those materials, it must protect against disclosure of the mental

impressions, conclusions, opinions, or legal theories of a party’s attorney

or other representative concerning the litigation.

(C) Previous Statement. Any party or other person may, on request and

without the required showing, obtain the person’s own previous statement

about the action or its subject matter. If the request is refused, the person

may move for a chancery court order, and Rule 37(a)(5) applies to the

award of expenses. A previous statement is either:

(i) a written statement that the person has signed or otherwise

adopted or approved; or

(ii) a contemporaneous stenographic, mechanical, electrical, or other

recording--or a transcription of it--that recites substantially verbatim

the person’s oral statement.

(4) Trial Preparation: Experts.

(A) Deposition of an Expert Who May Testify. A party may depose any

person who has been identified as an expert whose opinions may be

presented at trial. If Rule 26(a)(2)(B) requires a report from the expert, the

deposition may be conducted only after the report is provided.

(B) Trial-Preparation Protection for Draft Reports or Disclosures. Rules

26(b)(3)(A) and (B) protect drafts of any report or disclosure required

under Rule 26(a)(2), regardless of the form in which the draft is recorded.

(C) Trial-Preparation Protection for Communications Between a Party’s

Attorney and Expert Witnesses. Rules 26(b)(3)(A) and (B) protect communications between the party’s attorney and any witness required to

provide a report under Rule 26(a)(2)(B), regardless of the form of the

communications, except to the extent that the communications:

(i) relate to compensation for the expert’s study or testimony;

(ii) identify facts or data that the party’s attorney provided and that

the expert considered in forming the opinions to be expressed; or

(iii) identify assumptions that the party’s attorney provided and that

the expert relied on in forming the opinions to be expressed.

(D) Expert Employed Only for Trial Preparation. Ordinarily, a party

may not, by interrogatories or deposition, discover facts known or opinions

held by an expert who has been retained or specially employed by another

party in anticipation of litigation or to prepare for trial and who is not

expected to be called as a witness at trial. But a party may do so only:

(i) as provided in Rule 35(b); or

(ii) on showing exceptional circumstances under which it is impracticable for the party to obtain facts or opinions on the same subject by

other means.

(E) Payment. Unless manifest injustice would result, the chancery

court must require that the party seeking discovery:

(i) pay the expert a reasonable fee for time spent in responding to

discovery under Rule 26(b)(4)(A) or (D); and

(ii) for discovery under (D), also pay the other party a fair portion of

the fees and expenses it reasonably incurred in obtaining the expert’s

facts and opinions.

(5) Claiming Privilege or Protecting Trial-Preparation Materials.

(A) Information Withheld. When a party withholds information otherwise discoverable by claiming that the information is privileged or subject

to protection as trialpreparation material, the party must:

(i) expressly make the claim; and

(ii) describe the nature of the documents, communications, or tangible things not produced or disclosed--and do so in a manner that,

without revealing information itself privileged or protected, will enable

other parties to assess the claim.

(B) Information Produced. If information produced in discovery is

subject to a claim of privilege or of protection as trial-preparation

material, the party making the claim may notify any party that received

the information of the claim and the basis for it. After being notified, a

party must promptly return, sequester, or destroy the specified information and any copies it has; must not use or disclose the information until

the claim is resolved; must take reasonable steps to retrieve the information if the party disclosed it before being notified; and may promptly

present the information to the court under seal for a determination of the

claim. The producing party must preserve the information until the claim

is resolved.

(c) Protective Orders.

(1) In General. A party or any person from whom discovery is sought may

move for a protective order in the chancery court where the action is

pending. The motion must include a certification that the movant has in good

faith conferred or attempted to confer with other affected parties in an effort

to resolve the dispute without chancery court action. The chancery court

may, for good cause, issue an order to protect a party or person from

annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense, including one or more of the following:

(A) forbidding the disclosure or discovery;

(B) specifying terms, including time and place or the allocation of

expenses, for the disclosure or discovery;

(C) prescribing a discovery method other than the one selected by the

party seeking discovery;

(D) forbidding inquiry into certain matters, or limiting the scope of

disclosure or discovery to certain matters;

(E) designating the persons who may be present while the discovery is

conducted;

(F) requiring that a deposition be sealed and opened only on chancery

court order;

(G) requiring that a trade secret or other confidential research, development, or commercial information not be revealed or be revealed only in

a specified way; and

(H) requiring that the parties simultaneously file specified documents

or information in sealed envelopes, to be opened as the chancery court

directs.

(2) Ordering Discovery. If a motion for a protective order is wholly or

partly denied, the chancery court may, on just terms, order that any party or

person provide or permit discovery.

(3) Awarding Expenses. Rule 37(a)(5) applies to the award of expenses.

(d) Timing, Sequence of Discovery, and Electronic Delivery.

(1) Timing. Except in a proceeding exempted from initial disclosure under

Rule 26(a)(1)(B), or when authorized by these rules, by stipulation, or by

chancery court order, a party may not seek discovery from any source before

the period for initial disclosures has expired and that party has provided the

disclosures required under Rule 26(a)(1).

(2) Sequence. Unless the parties stipulate or the chancery court orders

otherwise for the parties’ and witnesses’ convenience and in the interests of

justice:

(A) methods of discovery may be used in any sequence; and

(B) discovery by one party does not require any other party to delay its

discovery.

(3) Electronic Delivery. All discovery responses and documents produced

by a party may be delivered but shall not be filed through the electronic filing

system unless the chancery court orders otherwise. If not delivered through

the electronic filing system, the response or document must be delivered via

an electronic sharing methodology as agreed upon or approved at the initial

conference. All documents delivered as a means of document production

shall contain a bates stamp number on each page, as directed by the

chancery court at the initial conference.

(e) Supplementing Disclosures and Responses.

(1) In General. A party who has made a disclosure under Rule 26(a)--or

who has responded to an interrogatory, request for production, or request for

admission--must supplement or correct its disclosure or response:

(A) in a timely manner if the party learns that in some material respect

the disclosure or response is incomplete or incorrect, and if the additional

or corrective information has not otherwise been made known to the other

parties during the discovery process or in writing; or

(B) as ordered by the chancery court.

(2) Expert Witness. For an expert whose report must be disclosed under

Rule 26(a)(2)(B), the party’s duty to supplement extends both to information

included in the report and to information given during the expert’s deposition. Any additions or changes to this information must be disclosed by the

time the party’s pretrial disclosures under Rule 26(a)(3) are due.

(f) Discovery Conference. At any time after commencement of an action the

chancery court may direct the attorneys for the parties to appear before it for

a conference on the subject of discovery. The chancery court shall do so upon

motion by the attorney for any party if the motion includes:

(1) a statement of the issues as they then appear;

(2) a proposed plan and schedule of discovery;

(3) any expansion or further limitation proposed to be placed on discovery;

(4) any other proposed orders with respect to discovery; and

(5) a statement showing that the attorney making the motion has made a

reasonable effort to reach agreement with opposing attorneys on the matters

set forth in the motion. Each party and each party’s attorney are under a

duty to participate in good faith in the framing of a discovery plan if a plan

is proposed by the attorney for any party. Notice of the motion shall be served

on all parties. Objections or additions to matters set forth in the motion shall

be served not later than 14 days after service of the motion.

Following the discovery conference, the chancery court shall enter an order

tentatively identifying the issues for discovery purposes, establishing a plan

and schedule for discovery, setting limitations on discovery, if any; and

determining such other matters, including the allocation of expenses, as are

necessary for the proper management of discovery in the action. An order may

be altered or amended whenever justice so requires.

Subject to the right of a party who properly moves for a discovery conference

to prompt convening of the conference, the chancery court may combine the

discovery conference with a pretrial conference authorized by Rule 16.

(g) Signing Disclosures and Discovery Requests, Responses, and Objections.

(1) Signature Required; Effect of Signature. Every disclosure under Rule

26(a)(1) or (3) and every discovery request, response, or objection must be

signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney’s own name--or by

the party personally, if unrepresented-and must state the signer’s address,

email address, and telephone number. By signing, an attorney or party

certifies that to the best of the person’s knowledge, information, and belief

formed after a reasonable inquiry:

(A) with respect to a disclosure, it is complete and correct as of the time

it is made; and

(B) with respect to a discovery request, response, or objection, it is:

(i) consistent with these rules and warranted by existing law or by a

nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing

law, or for establishing new law;

(ii) not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause

unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation; and

(iii) neither unreasonable nor unduly burdensome or expensive, considering the needs of the case, prior discovery in the case, the amount in

controversy, and the importance of the issues at stake in the action.

(2) Failure to Sign. Other parties have no duty to act on an unsigned

disclosure, request, response, or objection until it is signed, and the chancery

court must strike it unless a signature is promptly supplied after the

omission is called to the attorney’s or party’s attention.

(3) Sanction for Improper Certification. If a certification violates this rule

without substantial justification, the chancery court, on motion or on its

own, must impose an appropriate sanction on the signer, the party on whose

behalf the signer was acting, or both. The sanction may include an order to

pay the reasonable expenses, including attorney’s fees, caused by the

violation.