Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this amendment should be rejected. The discovery process--the pretrial process in a lawsuit in which trial lawyers demand documents and other things from the people they are suing-- imposes huge costs on defendants, particularly because of the astronomical costs associated with the discovery of electronic information, such as emails. Law Technology News has reported that the total cost of electronic discovery rose from $2 billion in 2006 to $2.8 billion in 2009 and estimated that the total cost would rise 10 to 15 percent annually over the next few years. In a more recent case study of Fortune 500 companies, the RAND Institute found that the median total cost for electronic discovery among participants totaled $1.8 million per case. These costs are asymmetric. While defendants typically are subject to gigantic discovery costs, because they are large organizations possessing large amounts of data, plaintiffs have little information in their possession, and, therefore, are subject to a very small financial burden during the discovery process. Moreover, discovery conducted before a motion to dismiss is decided is unfair. Why should defendants bear the burden of paying for discovery before a complaint is held legally sufficient, especially when the threat of huge costs may coerce an unjustified settlement?…”