If a party ignores a court order to produce documents, what remedy may the other party seek?

• A. Summary judgment.
• B. Writ of attachment.
• C. Stay of proceedings.
• D. Dismissal of the complaint.

Answer: (D)

When a party ignores a court order to produce documents, the court has broad power to enforce the order and sanction noncompliance. The remedy here is to dismiss the complaint as a sanction for willful failure to cooperate with discovery. This sanctions-based approach protects the integrity of the process: it prevents one side from blocking the case by withholding essential evidence and encourages the other side to proceed with a fair opportunity to prove its claims.

Dismissal is appropriate when the failure to comply with a production order is material and impedes the movant’s ability to establish its case. Other options like summary judgment aren’t suitable because nonproduction isn’t about showing there are no facts in dispute; it’s about compelling evidence. A writ of attachment is more about coercing compliance or securing property, not a direct sanction in the discovery context. A stay of proceedings merely halts the case temporarily and doesn’t address the sanction for disobeying the order.