Motion to Compel

What It Is

A motion to compel (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37) asks the court to order the opposing party to comply with discovery obligations. If they won’t answer interrogatories, produce documents, or appear for depositions, this is your remedy.

When to File

After you’ve exhausted the meet and confer requirement. Under Rule 37, you must certify that you attempted in good faith to resolve the dispute without court intervention. This usually means:

1. Send a letter or email identifying the deficient responses
2. Explain what you need and why
3. Give them a reasonable deadline to supplement
4. If they refuse or ignore you — file the motion

What to Include

• What you requested: Quote or attach the specific discovery request
• What they provided: Quote their response (often boilerplate objections)
• Why it’s deficient: Explain what’s missing and why you’re entitled to it
• Why it matters: Connect the requested information to your claims
• Meet and confer certification: Describe your good-faith efforts to resolve the dispute

Sanctions

If the court grants your motion, it can:

• Order compliance with a deadline
• Award expenses: The losing party may have to pay the winner’s fees and costs for bringing the motion (Rule 37(a)(5))
• Exclude evidence: If a party fails to disclose witnesses or documents, the court can prohibit them from using that evidence at trial (Rule 37(c)(1))
• Adverse inference: In extreme cases, the court can instruct the jury to assume the withheld evidence was unfavorable to the withholding party
• Default judgment or dismissal: For the most egregious discovery abuse

The Pro Se Reality

Judges expect you to follow the rules even if you’re not a lawyer. But they also know government defendants often stonewall pro se litigants. A well-documented motion to compel — showing you followed the rules, made good faith efforts, and the other side refused — gets results.

Keep all emails. Document each phone call. The meet-and-confer record is your foundation.

Key Rules

• Rule 26(e) — Duty to supplement discovery responses
• Rule 37(a) — Motion to compel
• Rule 37(b) — Sanctions for failure to comply with court order
• Rule 37(c)(1) — Exclusion of undisclosed evidence