Rules of Court · Part 4 · New Jersey
R. 4:23-1 New Jersey Rules of Court, R. 4:23-1: Motion for Order Compelling Discovery, rendered as code with every cross-reference linked
Motion for Order Compelling Discovery
A party, upon reasonable notice to other parties and all persons affected thereby, may apply for an order compelling discovery as follows:
(a) Motion. If a deponent fails to answer a question propounded or submitted under R. 4:14 or 4:15, or a corporation or other entity fails to make a designation under R. 4:14- 2(c) or 4:15-1, the discovering party may move for an order compelling an answer or designation in accordance with the request. When taking a deposition on oral examination, the proponent of the question may complete or adjourn the examination before applying for an order. If the court denies the motion in whole or in part, it may make such protective order as it would have been empowered to make on a motion pursuant to R. 4:10-3.
(b) Evasive or Incomplete Answer. For the purposes of this subdivision an evasive or incomplete answer is to be treated as a failure to answer.
(c) Award of Expenses of Motion. If the motion is granted, the court shall, after opportunity for hearing, require the party or deponent whose conduct necessitated the motion to pay to the moving party the reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining the order, including attorney's fees, unless the court finds that the opposition to the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
If the motion is denied, the court shall, after opportunity for hearing, require the moving party to pay to the party opposing the motion the reasonable expenses incurred in opposing the motion, including attorney's fees, unless the court finds that the making of the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
If the motion is granted in part and denied in part, the court may apportion the reasonable expenses incurred in relation to the motion among the parties and persons in a just manner.
Note: Source-R.R. 4:27-1. Former rule deleted and new R. 4:23-1 adopted July 14, 1972 to be effective September 5, 1972; paragraphs (a) and (c) amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; paragraph (a) amended July 5, 2000 to be effective September 5, 2000.
Verbatim rule text, unmarked. Nothing here is a summary.
rule 4:23-1 "Motion for Order Compelling Discovery" {
A party, upon reasonable notice to other parties and all persons affected thereby, may apply for an order compelling discovery as follows:
(a) Motion. If a deponent fails to answer a question propounded or submitted under R. 4:14 or 4:15, or a corporation or other entity fails to make a designation under R. 4:14- 2(c) or 4:15-1, the discovering party may move for an order compelling an answer or designation in accordance with the request. When taking a deposition on oral examination, the proponent of the question may complete or adjourn the examination before applying for an order. If the court denies the motion in whole or in part, it may make such protective order as it would have been empowered to make on a motion pursuant to R. 4:10-3.
(b) Evasive or Incomplete Answer. For the purposes of this subdivision an evasive or incomplete answer is to be treated as a failure to answer.
(c) Award of Expenses of Motion. If the motion is granted, the court shall, after opportunity for hearing, require the party or deponent whose conduct necessitated the motion to pay to the moving party the reasonable expenses incurred in obtaining the order, including attorney's fees, unless the court finds that the opposition to the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
If the motion is denied, the court shall, after opportunity for hearing, require the moving party to pay to the party opposing the motion the reasonable expenses incurred in opposing the motion, including attorney's fees, unless the court finds that the making of the motion was substantially justified or that other circumstances make an award of expenses unjust.
If the motion is granted in part and denied in part, the court may apportion the reasonable expenses incurred in relation to the motion among the parties and persons in a just manner.
Note: Source-R.R. 4:27-1. Former rule deleted and new R. 4:23-1 adopted July 14, 1972 to be effective September 5, 1972; paragraphs (a) and (c) amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; paragraph (a) amended July 5, 2000 to be effective September 5, 2000.
}
referenced_by: 4:10-2, 4:10-3, 4:11-4, 4:14-4, 4:17-1, 4:18-1, 4:22-1, 4:23-2, 4:41-4
source: njcourts.gov // verbatim; changed 2025-09-29; corpus harvested 2026-09-02R. 4:23-2 → · chapter 4:23 · all rules
The Rules of Court are a government edict and carry no copyright; the text above is the Judiciary’s own publication, unchanged. Structure, links and highlighting are ours and carry no legal weight. Read the rule on njcourts.gov before you rely on it; amendments take effect each September 1.