Intentional abuse of the process by individuals deserves no consideration and abusers of the courts should be followed just as closely as those guilty of any other type of abuse. Sanctions are intended to deter future abuse as well as current abuse. Some firms are more likely to abuse the process than others. Third, length or amount of abuse is important to equity. Some discovery abuse is short, simple and over long before any hearing.
Some abuse occurs as a part of a long standing pattern.
When a court is granting a seventh or eight motion for sanctions in a case, the penalties should be steeper than for an isolated set of interrogatories answers that arrived a week late. The degree of cure is important as it reflects intent. Finally, centralized recording is essential. Opposing counsel, the court and the parties are entitled to know whether or not the abuse they are suffering is part of a pattern or way of doing business or whether it is an isolated event. A centralized recording system would provide for all of these factors.