Rule 26

Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure mandates certain automatic disclosures by litigants:

Rule 26. Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery
(a) Required Disclosures.

  (1) Initial Disclosures.
     (A) In General. Except as exempted by Rule 26(a)(1)(B) or as otherwise stipulated or
 ordered by the court, a party must, without awaiting a discovery request, provide to the
 other parties:
        (i) the name and, if known, the address and telephone number of each individual
 likely to have discoverable information — along with the subjects of that information —
 that the disclosing party may use to support its claims or defenses, unless the use would
 be solely for impeachment;
        (ii) a copy — or a description by category and location — of all documents,
 electronically stored information, and tangible things that the disclosing party has in its
 possession, custody, or control and may use to support its claims or defenses, unless the
 use would be solely for impeachment;
        (iii) a computation of each category of damages claimed by the disclosing party —
 who must also make available for inspection and copying as under Rule 34 the documents or
 other evidentiary material, unless privileged or protected from disclosure, on which each
 computation is based, including materials bearing on the nature and extent of injuries
 suffered; and
        (iv) for inspection and copying as under Rule 34, any insurance agreement under
 which an insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment in
 the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy the judgment.
     (B) Proceedings Exempt from Initial Disclosure. ...
     (C) Time for Initial Disclosures — In General. A party must make the initial
 disclosures at or within 14 days after the parties' Rule 26(f) conference unless a
 different time is set by stipulation or court order, or unless a party objects during the
 conference that initial disclosures are not appropriate in this action and states the
 objection in the proposed discovery plan. In ruling on the objection, the court must
 determine what disclosures, if any, are to be made and must set the time for disclosure. ...