How to Participate in Formal Discovery
Decide what written discovery requests you want to make., Check the procedural rules., Format your documents., Draft your requests., Serve your requests on the other party.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide what written discovery requests you want to make.
There are three basic types of written discovery – interrogatories, requests for admissions, and requests for production.
You may want to use all of them, or you may find that some are not necessary for your case.Interrogatories are written questions you send to the other party that they must answer in writing and under oath.
Interrogatories can be used to learn additional information from the other party such as the names of potential witnesses or the other party's description of the dispute that gave rise to the lawsuit.
Requests for admission also must be answered in writing and under oath, and are requests that the other party admit various facts of relevance to the case.
Requests for admission can be useful for eliminating the number of facts you must prove at trial.
If the other party admits something, you don't have to prove it.
Use requests for production to ask the other party for copies of documents or other evidence that might have relevance to any of the facts alleged in the lawsuit.
For example, if you are suing your employer for wrongful termination, you might request the company produce your personnel file or any documents associated with your termination. -
Step 2: Check the procedural rules.
The court's rules of procedure provide information on the types of discovery that are allowed, the limits of each type, and procedural requirements you must follow.Most courts limit the number of interrogatories or other requests you can make.
These limits are specific to each type of discovery – in other words, if the rules limit you to 40 interrogatories and 30 requests for production, you would have 70 total written discovery requests if you used both methods.
If you have additional questions or requests that exceed the limit established by the court's rules, you typically must ask the court's permission before you proceed.
You also may want to check the rules regarding how long the other party has to respond to the requests and what you must do to file a motion to compel if the other party doesn't respond by the deadline. , Even though you don't have to file any written discovery requests with the court, your documents still must be formatted in the same way other court documents are formatted.Depending on the court that's hearing your lawsuit, you may be able to find a form you can use online or at the clerk's office so you don't have to format your documents by hand.
If there's no form, get copies of discovery requests filed in another lawsuit in the same court so you can use them as a guide.
All discovery requests must have the caption on the top of the first page.
The caption appears on the complaint, answer, and all other documents filed by the parties in the case, and can be copied exactly. , After you've finished formatting your documents, you're ready to write the actual questions or requests that you want the other party to answer.
Anything you ask must have relevance to the claims or defenses in the lawsuit.Keep in mind that if your request seeks information protected by a privilege (such as attorney-client privilege), the other party will object and you won't get a response.
Another objection you might run into is the objection that your request is vague and overly broad.
Typically a party asserting this objection must explain their reasoning.
Generally, your requests should be fine if they have a narrow scope and are clearly designed to lead to unprivileged information that's relevant to the claims or defenses in the lawsuit.
You typically can find sample interrogatories and other discovery requests that you can use by searching the internet or visiting the public library in your local courthouse.
However, be careful not to copy these sample requests verbatim unless you're absolutely ;sure they apply to your case. , Although there is no requirement to file discovery requests with the court, you must have them served on the other party using standard legal service of process methods.Discovery requests typically aren't hand-delivered.
You may have had a sheriff's deputy or private process server deliver your complaint or answer, but discovery requests typically are sent through the mail.
Make a copy of your requests for your own records before you mail them, and then send them using certified mail with returned receipt requested.
When you get back the green card indicating that your requests were received, fill out a proof of service form and file it with the court.
The proof of service form will be important if you end up having to file a motion to compel because the other party won't respond to your requests. -
Step 3: Format your documents.
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Step 4: Draft your requests.
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Step 5: Serve your requests on the other party.
Detailed Guide
There are three basic types of written discovery – interrogatories, requests for admissions, and requests for production.
You may want to use all of them, or you may find that some are not necessary for your case.Interrogatories are written questions you send to the other party that they must answer in writing and under oath.
Interrogatories can be used to learn additional information from the other party such as the names of potential witnesses or the other party's description of the dispute that gave rise to the lawsuit.
Requests for admission also must be answered in writing and under oath, and are requests that the other party admit various facts of relevance to the case.
Requests for admission can be useful for eliminating the number of facts you must prove at trial.
If the other party admits something, you don't have to prove it.
Use requests for production to ask the other party for copies of documents or other evidence that might have relevance to any of the facts alleged in the lawsuit.
For example, if you are suing your employer for wrongful termination, you might request the company produce your personnel file or any documents associated with your termination.
The court's rules of procedure provide information on the types of discovery that are allowed, the limits of each type, and procedural requirements you must follow.Most courts limit the number of interrogatories or other requests you can make.
These limits are specific to each type of discovery – in other words, if the rules limit you to 40 interrogatories and 30 requests for production, you would have 70 total written discovery requests if you used both methods.
If you have additional questions or requests that exceed the limit established by the court's rules, you typically must ask the court's permission before you proceed.
You also may want to check the rules regarding how long the other party has to respond to the requests and what you must do to file a motion to compel if the other party doesn't respond by the deadline. , Even though you don't have to file any written discovery requests with the court, your documents still must be formatted in the same way other court documents are formatted.Depending on the court that's hearing your lawsuit, you may be able to find a form you can use online or at the clerk's office so you don't have to format your documents by hand.
If there's no form, get copies of discovery requests filed in another lawsuit in the same court so you can use them as a guide.
All discovery requests must have the caption on the top of the first page.
The caption appears on the complaint, answer, and all other documents filed by the parties in the case, and can be copied exactly. , After you've finished formatting your documents, you're ready to write the actual questions or requests that you want the other party to answer.
Anything you ask must have relevance to the claims or defenses in the lawsuit.Keep in mind that if your request seeks information protected by a privilege (such as attorney-client privilege), the other party will object and you won't get a response.
Another objection you might run into is the objection that your request is vague and overly broad.
Typically a party asserting this objection must explain their reasoning.
Generally, your requests should be fine if they have a narrow scope and are clearly designed to lead to unprivileged information that's relevant to the claims or defenses in the lawsuit.
You typically can find sample interrogatories and other discovery requests that you can use by searching the internet or visiting the public library in your local courthouse.
However, be careful not to copy these sample requests verbatim unless you're absolutely ;sure they apply to your case. , Although there is no requirement to file discovery requests with the court, you must have them served on the other party using standard legal service of process methods.Discovery requests typically aren't hand-delivered.
You may have had a sheriff's deputy or private process server deliver your complaint or answer, but discovery requests typically are sent through the mail.
Make a copy of your requests for your own records before you mail them, and then send them using certified mail with returned receipt requested.
When you get back the green card indicating that your requests were received, fill out a proof of service form and file it with the court.
The proof of service form will be important if you end up having to file a motion to compel because the other party won't respond to your requests.
About the Author
Mark Griffin
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow hobbies tutorials.
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