Court Opinion

ID: 9680465
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:32:17.954867+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:28.730691
License: Public Domain

RAY, Justice,
concurring.
I concur with the opinion of the Court as much for what it says as what it does not say. The narrow basis of the Court’s opinion rests upon the agreed scope of relevant information the plaintiffs actually desired and expressed in the record. Essentially, the Court has determined that discovery orders should not exceed the intended scope expressed by the requesting party: a discovery order exceeding such parameters is overly broad.
The opinion cannot be construed as an expression of limitation upon discovery in vehicular crashworthiness and/or design defect cases. We do not say that discovery should be limited to information regarding the particular vehicle model involved in the cause of action. Alleged defects in one product line may or may not be relevant to alleged defects in another product line of the same manufacturer. In passing upon the relevancy and materiality of such information sought to be discovered, the various remedies sought by a plaintiff and the burdens of proving entitlement to such remedies must be kept in mind. For example, the scope of discovery in product defect cases may be permissibly wide, especially where the plaintiff is alleging grounds for the award of exemplary damages.