If you do not answer the questions by the deadline, which is usually about a month, the other side could ask the judge to order you to respond to the interrogatories. If you miss the second deadline, the judge could impose a fine against you or strike your pleadings.
A Request for Production (also known as a Demand for Inspection) asks the other side to produce and allow copying or inspection and measuring of a document or thing.
Rule 33 (b), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure , requires the respondent to answer an interrogatory separately and fully in writing and under oath, unless the respondent objects, in which event the party objecting shall state with specificity the reasons for objection and shall answer to the extent the interrogatory is ...
However, you can object to interrogatories that call for legal conclusions. You can also object to questions if they are not at all related to the court case. To object, you need to write out the reasons for the objection instead of answering the question.
After you complete your response, you'll need to share your responses with the opposing side. You follow a specific court process to do this called serving papers.
When a party to a civil case needs to get information from the other side, she can serve the other side with written requests called “discovery requests.” These requests might include: Interrogatories, which are written questions about things that are relevant or important to the case. (NRCP 33; JCRCP 33)
If you are unable to answer an interrogatory because it is too vague, ambiguous, or somehow objectionable, you can state an objection and the reason for your objection. You must then answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable.
If the other person does not respond, or their response is still incomplete, you can ask the court to order them to respond. You have 45 days from the service of the most recent responses to ask the court to make an order requiring an answer.
“Interrogatory” is a legal word meaning “question.” The Form Interrogatories you received will list an Answering Party. Make sure that this is you. If it lists another party in your lawsuit as the answering or responding party, you do not need to respond to these requests. They are provided for your information.