California written discovery generally consists of four methods: Request for Production of Documents, Form Interrogatories, Special Interrogatories, and Requests for Admissions.
Discovery enables the parties to know before the trial begins what evidence may be presented. It s designed to prevent "trial by ambush," where one side doesn t learn of the other side s evidence or witnesses until the trial, when there s no time to obtain answering evidence.
The most commonly used discovery devices are depositions, interrogatories, requests for admissions, requests for production of documents, requests for inspection and e-discovery.
That disclosure is accomplished through a methodical process called "discovery." Discovery takes three basic forms: written discovery, document production and depositions.
As a rule, four types of discovery are identified. These include deposition, interrogatories, production of documents, and physical or mental examinations (Crain et al. 138).
The basic rule of discovery is that a party may obtain any information that pertains -- even slightly -- to any issue in the lawsuit, as long as the information is not "privileged" or otherwise legally protected (see "Discovery Limits," below).
interrogatoriesThe three primary written discovery tools are interrogatories, the request for production of documents, and the request for production of documents to a non-party. Interrogatories consist of a set of written questions prepared by the attorney that are then sent to the other party in the case.
The first phase of the discovery process is the written discovery phase. During this phase, your attorney may send and receive requests to produce documents, requests for admissions of facts, and written interrogatories.
By Scott Tzinberg. During a divorce case, it is not uncommon for both parties to conduct some form of discovery. This means that a party makes a formal request to the opposing party with the goal of obtaining more information relevant to the case. Discovery can take many forms.
Failure to comply with discovery can result in sanctions, the most severe being that a court may hold the noncompliant person in default and strike their pleadings in the case. The result is that the party who issued the discovery may be allowed to proceed and request almost any reasonable terms for the divorce without the other party having an opportunity to present any testimony. More likely the penalty will be either a financial award or barring certain testimony or exhibits at trial.
Each area of discovery comes with different costs. The most costly is the deposition . You are incurring the cost for your attorney to prepare for and appear at the deposition. You also will incur the cost of the court reporter and the expense of having the reporter prepare a transcript. The least costly are the interrogatories, as your attorney can usually issue the format approved by the Supreme Court and when the other party complies, your attorney will just need to spend a short time reviewing all the responses.
When a deposition is taken, documents that were obtained pursuant to a request to produce or from a subpoena can be presented as exhibits and questions asked about those documents.
When issuing a subpoena for records, the requestor must include an initial payment and perhaps an additional payment later when the documents are produced. This payment is applied to the copying and research the third party must perform in order to comply with the subpoena.
Interrogatories. Interrogatories are questions that one must respond to in writing. These questions usually seek information about income, assets, debts and other historical financial information about the other party.
The responding party must produce all documents in the request that are within their control and possession. A person served with a request to produce documents has a continuing responsibility (while the case is pending) to supplement their responses with additional documents as they become available.