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How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents

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  • 02-20-2017, 04:18 PM
    epic
    How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    My question involves court procedures for the state of: IL

    The interrogatories - seem to be set about prove plaintiff's case (their case).
    My Question: They ask for records that are no long available and any are just pieces of what they wanted. Some are several books that would have to be copied. a. Can a person state (when no records exist) that there are no records so don't know the info. b. Can the several books, which include the info their lawyer wants be given to them or the judge for review, without having to copy everything. c. Much of what has been asked for because (50 years old) is impossible to provide accurately . d. My suspicion is opposing council wants to overburden so the case goes away.

    We'd hoped our lawyer would do a motion for summary judgment before trial and this came about, but that isn't happening.
  • 02-20-2017, 05:40 PM
    adjusterjack
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    These are questions you should be asking of your lawyer. But, OK.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    a. Can a person state (when no records exist) that there are no records so don't know the info.

    Obviously, yes.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    b. Can the several books, which include the info their lawyer wants be given to them or the judge for review, without having to copy everything.

    Bad idea. 1 - You have to provide copies to the other party, to your lawyer, and for the judge when it comes to trial if you are using that original material as evidence. 2 - Never turn loose of your original. It's a good way to lose it.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    c. Much of what has been asked for because (50 years old) is impossible to provide accurately . d. My suspicion is opposing council wants to overburden so the case goes away.

    We'd hoped our lawyer would do a motion for summary judgment before trial and this came about, but that isn't happening.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    c. Much of what has been asked for because (50 years old) is impossible to provide accurately .

    Then you do the best you can and seek advice from your attorney if you have any issues.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    d. My suspicion is opposing council wants to overburden so the case goes away.

    I'm sure opposing council doesn't feel that way. :friendly_wink:

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post

    We'd hoped our lawyer would do a motion for summary judgment before trial and this came about, but that isn't happening.

    What did your lawyer say when you asked him why that wasn't happening?
  • 02-20-2017, 07:52 PM
    Jim Kozlovich
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    I would suggest that you ask your attorney if he thinks it's a good idea that you should be asking legal advice from an internet forum. If he says "yes"... fire him.
  • 02-21-2017, 06:56 AM
    epic
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    Lawyer is working pro bono or nearly so this case isn't high priority - he is doing best he can. When summary judgement was suggested via e-mail he ignored the suggestion and now with all this "stuff" being asked for it's probably too late. Many records the opposing lawyer asked for are long gone due to passage of time. Is there anyway our lawyer can go to court and plead that these requests are unreasonable , burdensome (not all of the requests were unreasonable and can be answered), but information from nearly 50 yrs that is almost impossibe to find within the records remaining seems wrong to have to comply with.

    Since it's pro bono I believe , summary judgment would require more effort on his part, the other doesn't. As he's not involved in the research for the answers and information that their lawyer asked for.
  • 02-21-2017, 07:23 AM
    llworking
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    Lawyer is working pro bono or nearly so this case isn't high priority - he is doing best he can. When summary judgement was suggested via e-mail he ignored the suggestion and now with all this "stuff" being asked for it's probably too late. Many records the opposing lawyer asked for are long gone due to passage of time. Is there anyway our lawyer can go to court and plead that these requests are unreasonable , burdensome (not all of the requests were unreasonable and can be answered), but information from nearly 50 yrs that is almost impossibe to find within the records remaining seems wrong to have to comply with.

    Since it's pro bono I believe , summary judgment would require more effort on his part, the other doesn't. As he's not involved in the research for the answers and information that their lawyer asked for.

    We might be able to be more helpful if we knew the context of your questions.
  • 02-21-2017, 07:41 AM
    epic
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    Things like bank records (cancelled cks), financial statements, etc as an example
  • 02-21-2017, 07:53 AM
    adjusterjack
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    Would you kindly summarize this lawsuit from the beginning so I don't have to go back over 92 of your previous posts to figure out what's going on.

    And please stop opening new threads every time you have another question. It gets annoying having to go back to other threads to find out that the summary judgment issue was already discussed (that's just one example).
  • 02-21-2017, 09:21 AM
    epic
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    The question wasn't about summary judgment - that was an aside commen. The Question was about "how to answer interrogatories" that requested ancient records, etc.
  • 02-21-2017, 03:33 PM
    LexisLutor
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    My question involves court procedures for the state of: IL

    The interrogatories - seem to be set about prove plaintiff's case (their case).
    My Question: They ask for records that are no long available and any are just pieces of what they wanted. Some are several books that would have to be copied. a. Can a person state (when no records exist) that there are no records so don't know the info. b. Can the several books, which include the info their lawyer wants be given to them or the judge for review, without having to copy everything. c. Much of what has been asked for because (50 years old) is impossible to provide accurately . d. My suspicion is opposing council wants to overburden so the case goes away.

    We'd hoped our lawyer would do a motion for summary judgment before trial and this came about, but that isn't happening.

    You need to object to the requests that are "unduly burdensome and not reasonably calculated to the discovery of admissible evidence". I don't know how exactly it is in IL, but usually your best bet is to (1) provide the records you deem reasonable, based on the details of your judicial process, and (2) object (in writing) to the excessive and/or privileged scope of the requests. If the requester is not satisfied with your production of records, he/she will file a "motion to compel discovery", which is where each party will argue as to the reasonableness and feasibility of what is being requested/produced. This is why it is important for you to be honest with yourself as to what constitutes "reasonable": the more stringent you are in (1), the greater the degree of compliance the judge might order upon you. On the other hand, it is customary for parties to request for too much (especially those parties aware that their case is weak), which courts call a "fishing expedition".

    Pro bono considerations aside, moving for summary judgment is a good idea only if it is clear enough that the other party cannot prevail in the case. If discovery is in its initial or mid-stage, it is easy for the other party to defeat your motion by claiming that discovery is still pending and he/she is in the process of gathering proofs. That being said, if that party does nothing else than postponing matters and asking you for irrelevant items, then you're in a better position to persuade the court that the other party cannot raise material issues of fact and is only harassing you.
  • 02-21-2017, 04:19 PM
    Taxing Matters
    Re: How to Answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents
    You have not provided much information on this lawsuit. You have been reluctant in the past to do that, too. And it’s really impossible to try to figure things out from your prior posts since not all of them may relate to this case and even if they did as I recall them there nothing that really tells me what this lawsuit is about. You did not even indicate which type of court this is being litigated in, e.g. federal district court, Illinois circuit court, or something else. That matters because the rules are a bit different in each court. That said, I can give you some very general answers here.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    My question involves court procedures for the state of: IL

    The interrogatories - seem to be set about prove plaintiff's case (their case).
    My Question: They ask for records that are no long available and any are just pieces of what they wanted. Some are several books that would have to be copied. a. Can a person state (when no records exist) that there are no records so don't know the info.

    If it is true that the records no longer exist then of course you may state that in response. If you purposely destroyed the records once litigation had started, however, that could work out very much against you if the other side can prove it.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    b. Can the several books, which include the info their lawyer wants be given to them or the judge for review, without having to copy everything.

    You could do that, but I’d strongly recommend against doing that. You don’t to simply give up the records to the other side without having a copy yourself. Your lawyer could potentially make the books available in his office for the other side to copy if the copying would be too burdensome for you to do it.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    c. Much of what has been asked for because (50 years old) is impossible to provide accurately.

    You only need to provide those records you have. You are not obligated to chase down records you don’t have in order to satisfy the request.

    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    d. My suspicion is opposing council wants to overburden so the case goes away.

    Perhaps, though that’s risky for a lawyer to do because if the court determines that is what the lawyer is up to the lawyer may well be sanctioned by the court for it. More likely the lawyer is simply trying to be thorough and uncover everything that may be relevant to the case. Knowing the nature of the case might shed some light on what is going on and why these old records might be relevant, but as you evidently do not wish to share that all I can say is that the discovery process is generally quite broad allowing parties to seek evidence in the possession of the other side that is relevant to the case or that is reasonably calculated to lead to relevant evidence.

    And just as an aside, the correct term is legal counsel. A council is “a deliberative body.” Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th ED. The U.N. Security Council, the National Security Council, a city council are all examples of that, i.e. a group of people who meet to deliberate and decide things. Counsel is a noun with two meanings, the first meaning advice and the second referring to a lawyer/member of the bar. The second meaning came about from the first, in that a major role of an attorney is providing counsel, i.e. advice, to his client. Easiest way to remember which spelling to use is that the spelling for the lawyer meaning is not the same one as the word used in the phrase “city council.” :D


    Quote:

    Quoting epic
    View Post
    We'd hoped our lawyer would do a motion for summary judgment before trial and this came about, but that isn't happening.

    You are the defendant in the case. You would not normally do a motion for summary judgement prior to discovery taking place. Instead, prior to discovery all you have of the plaintiff’s case is the complaint. If the plaintiff has failed in the complaint to state a good case against you, i.e. even if all the facts stated in the complaint were true the plaintiff has not laid out a valid claim, then you’d move to dismiss for failure to state claim. If there has been something other than the complaint that has been submitted to the court then you might move for dismissal combined with a motion for summary judgment in the alternative. But the standard for summary judgment is going to be similar to the dismissal for failure to state a claim, the judge would look at any facts that are not contested and if there are contested facts, the judge will look at those facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party (the plaintiff). The judge then determines if you would be entitled to a judgment in your favor as a matter of law looking at those facts. In short, you are basically arguing that even if everything was the way the plaintiff said it was, the plaintiff still couldn’t win. So, is that the case here? If the plaintiff proved all the facts he or she is alleging, would the plaintiff lose? If the answer is no, then you wouldn’t win summary judgment. That’s an oversimplified explanation of it, but hopefully gives you an idea of what summary judgment is about.
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