Short answer. Yes. Under Rule 27, upon motion showing good cause, the court in which the action is pending may order any party to produce and permit the inspection and copying or photographing of designated documents and things that are not privileged, contain evidence material to the case, and are in that party's possession, custody or control.
What the law says
order any party to produce and permit the inspection and copying or photographing, by or on behalf of the moving party, of any designated documents, papers, books, accounts, letters, photographs, objects or tangible things, not privileged, which constitute or contain evidence material to any matter involved in the action and which are in his or her possession, custody or control
Rule 27, Section 1 — Motion for production or inspection; order. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The order shall specify the time, place and manner of making the inspection and taking copies and photographs, and may prescribe such terms and conditions as are just.
Rule 27, Section 1 — Motion for production or inspection; order. Read the full provision →
What the court can order
Rule 27, Section 1 authorises the court, on motion of any party showing good cause, to order any party to produce and permit the inspection and copying or photographing, by or on behalf of the moving party, of any designated documents, papers, books, accounts, letters, photographs, objects or tangible things. This is a discovery tool inside a pending action, aimed at the other party — the contracts, ledgers, records and correspondence sitting in their hands that you need to see to prove your case or test theirs. The court's order, not a mere request between lawyers, is what makes production compulsory.
The conditions built into the rule
The section carries its own filters. The motion must show good cause — a reason the court can weigh, not curiosity. The things sought must be designated, which rules out a demand for everything the other side has; describe the documents or categories with enough particularity that the other party knows what to hand over. They must be not privileged, so matters protected by recognised privileges stay beyond reach. They must constitute or contain evidence material to any matter involved in the action. And they must be in the other party's possession, custody or control — a party cannot be ordered to produce what it does not hold or command.
Entry on land as well as papers
The same section has a second limb: the court may order any party to permit entry upon designated land or other property in his or her possession or control for the purpose of inspecting, measuring, surveying, or photographing the property or any designated relevant object or operation thereon. In boundary disputes, construction cases, and damage claims, this is often the more valuable branch — it lets your surveyor or engineer stand on the disputed ground, measure it, and photograph the works or conditions at issue, under the protection of a court order.
How the order works in practice
The rule keeps the process supervised: The order shall specify the time, place and manner of making the inspection and taking copies and photographs, and may prescribe such terms and conditions as are just. The court, not the parties, fixes the logistics, and it can attach safeguards — limits on who attends, how copies are kept, what happens to sensitive material. For the party seeking production, the working method is to draft the motion with a precise list, tie each item to an issue in the pleadings, and propose sensible terms; a motion the judge can grant as written is the one most likely to be granted.