Rule 5.4.Early Planning Conference and Discovery Plan

Rule 5.4 gives Georgia civil litigants a structured way to plan discovery before it turns into a fight. Getting to the conference table can happen three ways: the parties can agree to hold an early planning discovery conference, the judge can order one, or a party can petition the court to convene one. The conference itself is flexible — by phone, video, in person, or some mix, unless the court insists on an in-person meeting.

Once at the table, the rule asks the parties to cover specific ground: the nature and basis of the claims and defenses and whether settlement is realistic, any disputes over how broadly information needs to be preserved, the shape of a discovery plan, and anything else relevant to the case. A workable discovery plan can go further still, addressing electronically stored information — its schedule, its production format, and which sources are too burdensome or costly to reach — along with the scope of preservation and when the duty to preserve can end.

The rule keeps a tight clock on the paperwork that follows. Within fourteen days of the meeting, the parties may submit an agreed plan, with the plaintiff’s attorney responsible for submitting it unless the parties agree otherwise. If they can’t agree, they instead submit a joint report within that same fourteen days, showing what they agree on and where each side stands on the rest, and the court steps in to help resolve whatever remains unsettled.