Q At our pretrial conference the judge got mad at my husband and I because we are still fighting about document exchange. I am not going to provide him with documents until he provides them to me. I asked first and he asked two weeks later so he should have to respond first. Also, I gave him my self-disclosure on time and he still has not given me his.

He told the judge that I am welcome to go to his house to look at his documents there, but I am not setting foot in that house with his girlfriend living there.

Anyway, the judge appointed a discovery master and said she is not going to have a pretrial conference until we work with the discovery master and everything is done. Can you help me understand what to expect with the discovery master and how to make the process fast?

A The court has the authority to appoint a special master to oversee pieces of litigation as may be needed. The discovery master can review the discovery you each requested from each other and your respective compliance to date with deadlines and the like. Typically, you are each required to pay half of the discovery master’s retainer and fees but if the discovery master feels one of you has created the problem or is prolonging the dispute, they can shift the fees so that the problem party bears more of the cost.

In order to make this process go as fast and smoothly as possible, I highly recommend you look at the self-disclosure you provided and make sure it is clear. In other words make sure your written statement lists out specifically what you produced in response to each category including account numbers (last four digits is fine) and exact timeframe provided.

While you are right that his documents should be provided first, you should have your response ready to go again with the formal written response spelling out each document you are producing in response to the particular category. In this way you can represent you are ready to respond upon receipt of his. And, the discovery master can easily assess what was produced.

You need not go to the house to inspect his self-disclosure and the discovery master should order him to produce those records right away. You should ask that the fees be shifted to your husband on that point.

Email questions to whickey@brickjones.com