Section 4009.1. Production of Documents and Things. General Provisions

(a) Any party may serve a request upon a party pursuant to Rules 4009.11 and 4009.12 or a subpoena upon a person not a party pursuant to Rules 4009.21 through 4009.27 to produce and permit the requesting party, or someone acting on the party’s behalf, to inspect and copy any designated documents (including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, and electronically stored information), or to inspect, copy, test or sample any tangible things or electronically stored information, which constitute or contain matters within the scope of Rules 4003.1 through 4003.6 inclusive and which are in the possession, custody or control of the party or person upon whom the request or subpoena is served, and may do so one or more times.

(b) A party requesting electronically stored information may specify the format in which it is to be produced and a responding party or person not a party may object. If no format is specified by the requesting party, electronically stored information may be produced in the form in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a reasonably usable form.

Official Note

These rules do not prevent a court from entering an order under its common law power preserving or protecting a document or thing.

Parties to an action and persons not parties but served with a subpoena or request pursuant to these rules have the protective and enforcement provisions of the discovery rules available to them. See Rule 4012 governing protective orders and Rule 4019 governing enforcement and sanctions for failure to make discovery.

The remedy of a protective order is available to the party to whom a request is directed to prevent abuse.

These rules do not preclude (1) the issuance under Rule 234.1 et seq. of a subpoena or request for the production of documents or things at a deposition pursuant to Rule 4007.1(d) or (2) an independent action against a person not a party for production of documents or things.

For additional provisions governing the production of expert reports in medical professional liability actions, see Rule 1042.26 et seq.

The provisions of this Rule 4009.1 adopted April 7, 1997, effective July 1, 1997, 27 Pa.B. 1921; amended March 29, 2004, effective immediately, 34 Pa.B. 1926; amended June 6, 2012, effective August 1, 2012, 42 Pa.B. 3574. Immediately preceeding text appears at serial pages (255407) to (255408) and (303601).