Q: My additional discovery was denied by judge, even though we have an agreement extending it until trial. How to resolve?
I am getting divorced and my previous attorney signed an agreement with opposing counsel to extend discovery until 45 days before trial. My new attorney, who seems to be incompetent, filed a motion for additional discovery with the court and the judge ruled that "the discovery period is closed".
I do not believe my attorney bothered to review the case documents nor saw the extended discovery that was filed with the court.
Who is at fault here? My attorney for not seeing it and referring to it, opposing counsel for not bringing it up or the judge for not being aware of the documents filed with his court?
How do I proceed? Get a new attorney or was that discovery extension agreement invalidated by the change of counsel?
A: No one can tell you who is at fault. Armchair quarterbacking without reviewing the file would be dangerous and imprudent. Also, you knew the motion had been filed, and you also should have known there was already an agreement extending discovery. It's your case so you would have access to the file. In any event, you can always ask for supplementation of original discovery and you can send subpoenas to 3rd parties to fill in any gaps.
A: Not having reviewed the file at all, attorneys on this board can't advise you on this case. You can stay with your current attorney or hire another. But be advised that if you hire a new attorney, they will be expected to get up to speed on your case without a continuance, as I doubt the Court is willing to extend this case any further. Therefore, if you want to switch attorneys again, you should act fast.
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