Erika Birg Published in the American Bar Association's Pretrial Practice & Discovery Newsletter
"Documents Don't Talk"

Erika Birg's article, "Documents Don't Talk," was published in the Fall 2008 issue of the American Bar Association's Pretrial Practice & Discovery Newsletter. In her article, Erika discusses how the age-old statement, "The document speaks for itself," will no longer suffice as a method used by defendants to deny allegations regarding contents or interpretation of a contract. According to Erika, the Courts view the response as insufficient and the material alleged constitutes an admission by the defendant. Erika also explains that courts are adopting, with some frequency, the same approach in response to questions arising from various discovery requests. She notes that "Accurate and responsive pleading and forthright discovery responses not only streamline cases, but also help prevent clients from incurring unnecessary legal costs in connection with motions to compel, or worse, lost defenses or contentions."

Erika concludes that "Given the consequences of facing a judge who has an aversion to jargon such as 'documents speaking for themselves,' you are better off incurring the additional effort and expense of preparing complete responses at the outset of a case of discovery. Otherwise, you could face unintended admissions or the ire of the court."