Legal Malpractice Interrogatories

The purpose of interrogatories is to learn a great deal of general information about a party in a lawsuit. For example, the defendant in a personal injury lawsuit about a car accident might send you interrogatories asking you to disclose things like: Where you live.

The plaintiff must respond by the deadline. There are different ways to make sure you get each kind of discovery if the plaintiff does not give it to you by the deadline. If the plaintiff does not respond to the court order, then you can file a Motion to Dismiss and you may win your case.

So, can you refuse to answer interrogatories? The answer is, no, you may not. You must answer a Rule 33 interrogatory within 30 days of being served with it. That answer must either permit inspection of the requested information or object to the production of the information for a specific reason.

In law, interrogatories (also known as requests for further information) are a formal set of written questions propounded by one litigant and required to be answered by an adversary in order to clarify matters of fact and help to determine in advance what facts will be presented at any trial in the case.

Interrogatories are written questions that one party to a lawsuit sends to another, and the responding party submits written answers under oath. If a lawsuit is filed in a personal injury case, chances are interrogatories will come into play.

You must answer each interrogatory separately and fully in writing under oath, unless you object to it. You must explain why you object. You must sign your answers and objections.

Motions to Compel If a party doesn't respond to interrogatories or requests for production, then the party seeking those answers must file a motion to compel with the court. If the court grants the motion to compel, then the party who objected or failed to answer must then do so.

Responding to Form InterrogatoriesAnswer each question, being careful to answer each subpart, if one exists. Read the question carefully, and answer only what it asks. You may attach exhibits, if necessary. The response must be verified, meaning you must swear that the responses given are true.

Interrogatory subparts are counted as one interrogatory if they are logically or factually subsumed within and necessarily related to the primary question. Safeco of America v. Rawstron, 181 F.R.D. 441, 445 (C.D. Cal.