§ 7B-700. Sharing of information; discovery.
Article 7.
Discovery.
§ 7B‑700. Sharing ofinformation; discovery.
(a) Sharing ofInformation. A department of social services is authorized to share with anyother party information relevant to the subject matter of an action pendingunder this Subchapter. However, this subsection does not authorize thedisclosure of the identity of the reporter or any uniquely identifyinginformation that would lead to the discovery of the reporter's identity inaccordance with G.S. 7B‑302 or the identity of any other person where theagency making the information available determines that the disclosure would belikely to endanger the life or safety of the person.
(b) Local Rules. Thechief district court judge may adopt local rules or enter an administrativeorder addressing the sharing of information among parties and the use ofdiscovery.
(c) Discovery. Anyparty may file a motion for discovery. The motion shall contain a specificdescription of the information sought and a statement that the requesting partyhas made a reasonable effort to obtain the information pursuant to subsections(a) and (b) of this section or that the information cannot be obtained pursuantto subsections (a) and (b) of this section. The motion shall be served upon allparties pursuant to G.S. 1A‑1, Rule 5. The motion shall be heard andruled upon within 10 business days of the filing of the motion. The court maygrant, restrict, defer, or deny the relief requested. Any order shall avoidunnecessary delay of the hearing, establish expedited deadlines for completion,and conform to G.S. 7B‑803.
(d) Protective Order. Any party served with a motion for discovery may request that the discovery bedenied, restricted, or deferred and shall submit, for in camera inspection, thedocument, information, or materials the party seeks to protect. If the courtenters any order granting relief, copies of the documents, information, ormaterials submitted in camera shall be preserved for appellate review in theevent of an appeal.
(e) Redisclosure. Informationobtained through discovery or sharing of information under this section may notbe redisclosed if the redisclosure is prohibited by State or federal law.
(f) Guardian Ad Litem. Unless provided otherwise by local rules, information or reports obtained bythe guardian ad litem pursuant to G.S. 7B‑601 are not subject todisclosure pursuant to this subsection, except that reports and records shallbe shared with all parties before submission to the court. (1979, c. 815, s. 1; 1998‑202,s. 6; 1999‑456, s. 60; 2009‑311, s. 4.)