1. Civil Pretrial Practice
Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery

2. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery General Information
“Discovery” refers to a variety of procedures that may be used to gather information and evidence from other parties in the case. There are many resources available that provide general information about discovery procedures.
Discovery is a formal legal process through which parties to a case gather information and evidence from each other. This can be the most important step in a case because it allows the parties to obtain the information and evidence needed to present their arguments; to determine what evidence the other side plans to present at trial; and helps the parties focus their cases on the issues that are truly in dispute, which saves time and money at trial. In some cases, the information and evidence obtained during discovery points out strengths in your case, or weaknesses in the opposing party’s case, which can lead to settlement offers.

3. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery General Information
California law places strict limits on the numbers, types, and timing of discovery requests. Because of this, developing a discovery plan is crucial to most litigants, to ensure that they are able to obtain the information they need for trial.
Discovery procedures take place outside of court. Parties are expected to work with each other to obtain discovery and resolve disputes. Court intervention is only allowed after the parties have attempted to resolve disputes on their own.

4. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Written Discovery Methods
FORM INTERROGATORIES (“Form Rogs.”)
SPECIAL INTERROGATORIES (“Special Rogs.”)
REQUESTS FOR PRODUCTION OR INSPECTION (“RPD” or “RFP”)
REQUESTS FOR ADMISSIONS (“RFA”)
Note: In a limited civil case (cases less than $25,000) you may ask each party only 35 questions total, whether they are form interrogatories, special interrogatories, requests for admission, or requests for production of documents.

5. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Form Interrogatories
Form interrogatories are an easy way for parties to ask common questions by simply checking the boxes for the questions they wish to ask.
Sections 1-3: Instructions for the parties for asking and answering form interrogatories. Be sure to read these instructions carefully.
Section 4: Read these definitions carefully, so you understand how the terms will be used throughout your requests. For the term “INCIDENT,” you may use either the preprinted definition by checking the box at the bottom of the first page, or you may write your own. If you write your own, check instead the box in the upper right of the second page, and write the definition in the space below it. Limit your definition to a single action, event or moment in time, as many of the interrogatories require “INCIDENT” to be defined in such a way that INCIDENT refers to a single event that can be said to have occurred at a single moment in time. If you need more space, use an additional page and label it Attachment 4(a)(2).
Section 5: The Form Interrogatories in Form Interrogatories - General (DISC-001) and Form Interrogatories - Limited Civil Cases (DISC-004) are broken into sections that correspond to each other. These sections are identified with a bold heading prefaced by a number with a decimal 0, such as , followed by interrogatories with decimals starting at .1, such as 106.1, 106.2, etc. The headings are not interrogatories; they merely identify the type of questions in the section.

6. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Special Interrogatories
Special interrogatories are written by the parties. Writing customized questions allows the parties to obtain the specific information needed in their case. Each question should be written to establish a point the party needs to prove their case or to obtain information needed to disprove the other party’s case.
In an unlimited civil case (over $25,000), parties may ask 35 special interrogatories.
California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) § places several limits on these questions. Subparts are prohibited, as are compound, conjunctive, or disjunctive questions. This means you cannot write questions that have multiple parts (a, b, c, etc., like those found in the form interrogatories), or that ask for more than one piece of information connected with an “and,” which is a conjunctive, or an “or,” which is a disjunctive.
CCP § also prohibits the use of continuing interrogatories, which are questions asking the responding party to update their prior answers with any additional information they obtain after the interrogatory has been answered. For this reason it is often advantageous to serve a final set of special interrogatories near the end of a case asking whether any of the information provided in the prior responses early in the case has changed in any way.

7. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Special Interrogatories (Cont.)
Make sure that the question you are asking seeks information that would tend to prove or disprove something that must be proven in your case.
Write your request as clearly as possible. The easier your interrogatory is to understand, and the less ambiguous it is, the less likely it is for the other side to validly object that your request is vague, ambiguous, or overly broad, etc.
Use dates, account numbers, and other information to ask reasonably narrow questions. Asking “State all facts that prove the ASKING PARTY is at fault,” for example, would be vague, ambiguous, and overly broad, but “State all facts which support the contention in your Answer that the ASKING PARTY was responsible for the accident alleged in the Complaint,” would be more likely to yield a response rather than an objection.
Remember that special interrogatories are questions requesting written answers, and cannot be used to compel the responding party to produce documents.

8. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Requests for Production or Inspection
Requests for production or inspection (“RPD” or “RFP”) may be used to inspect and copy documents or tangible items held by the other party. Requests for inspection can also be used to test, measure, photograph, etc., physical evidence in the other party’s possession or control.
Generally, a request for production asks the responding party to make available the original documents, but a requesting party may request that photocopies be sent instead, if inspection of the original document is not necessary.
In an unlimited civil case (cases for more than $25,000), each party may make an unlimited number of requests for production. These requests, like the requests in a limited civil case, must all be reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of relevant, admissible evidence. If the number of demands made by the requesting party are abusive, the responding party may file a motion requesting a protective order (CCP § ).

9. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Requests for Admissions
Requests for admissions (“RFA”) are used to ask another party to admit that certain facts are true, or that certain documents are authentic, so that these facts do not need to be proven or documents authenticated at trial.
Requests for admissions are generally not used to obtain new information, but instead to simplify a case by eliminating the facts that must be proven at trial. Ideally, requests for admissions are used to establish all the facts needed to prove a cause of action or an affirmative defense.
Each request must be numbered sequentially. Requests must be clear and concise, and request that the party admit a single fact. Do not include multiple facts in a single request, and do not use compound questions or subparts
If the responding party fails to respond to your Request for Admission, your remedy is to ask the court to deem each of the facts true, so be sure to phrase your requests so that, if a fact is deemed true, it helps your case.
In an unlimited civil case (cases over $25,000), each party may make 35 requests for admission. Any number over 35 may be asked if the request contains a declaration of necessity, a sworn statement in which the party or attorney declares under penalty of perjury that additional discovery is required. The form of this declaration can be found in California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) §
To keep within these limits, you may be tempted to try to squeeze as much as you can into each fact you wish admitted. Be careful in doing this; CCP § prohibits parties from writing requests that include multiple facts, compound questions, or subparts.

10. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Responding to Written Discovery - General
You have 30 days after the interrogatories, requests for production or requests for admission were served to you (35 days if served by mail from within California) to serve your responses to the interrogatories.
Your original written response must be served on the attorney for the propounding party, or directly to the propounding party if he or she is self-represented (in pro per). Courtesy copies should be served on all other attorneys or self-represented parties in the case. Service may be completed by mail, by a person over the age of 18 who is not a party to the case.
Immediately after the top caption, your response must include the name of the requesting party, the responding party, and the set number of the request. You must respond to each request individually. You do not need to repeat the text of the question, but your responses must be in the same order as the requests, and each response should be labeled with the same number or letter as the request.
Sometimes, rather than answering the interrogatory or request, you may object to the request on legal grounds. Common objections include:
If only a portion of the request is objectionable, the non-objectionable portion of the request must be answered (CCP § (a)).
Unless your written response includes only objections without any factual assertions, it must be verified. This means it must include a statement under the penalty of perjury that your response is true and correct. Failure to include this verification has the same effect as not responding at all. CCP §

11. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Responding to Interrogatories
Although Form and Special interrogatories look very different, the responses to both are similar. Your answers must be as complete and straightforward as possible (California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) § ), and be accurate to the best of your knowledge.
Your responses must be “verified,” meaning that you must sign under penalty of perjury that your responses are true and correct (CCP § ).

12. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Responding to Requests for Production or Inspection
Your response to a request for production consists of two parts. One part is a written response to the requests, in which you state under penalty of perjury that you will produce the requested items; that you will not produce and why; or that you object to a request on legal grounds. The second part of your response is the actual production of the requested documents or things in the manner specified in the requests.
You must provide the propounding party with access to the requested documents and things at the time and location indicated in the request for production. Other parties in the case may be present at the specified time and location to perform their own inspections. However, if the other parties wish to have access to the documents or things at a different time or location, they will need to propound their own request for production.
Your response for each request must include either an agreement to comply, a representation of your ability to reply, or an objection to all or part of the request. California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) §§ et. Seq. require specific statements in your response. For each request, you will state one of the following:
That the request will be allowed in whole. (CCP § ). This means that you are in possession of the requested documents or things, and will produce them in the manner indicated in the request;
That you are unable to comply with the request, because the requested document or thing has never existed. (CCP § ). You must make a “diligent search and reasonable inquiry” into finding the requested items, and state in your response that you have made this effort;
That you are unable to comply because the requested items no longer exist, or are no longer in your possession. (CCP § ).You must make a “diligent search and reasonable inquiry” into finding the requested items, and state in your response that you have made this effort. You must also describe what the items were, and explain what happened to them. If known, you must include the name and address of the person or organization in possession of the requested items; or That you will produce some, but not all, of the requested items, because some of the requested items no longer exist, or are no longer in your possession. (CCP § ). You must make a “diligent search and reasonable inquiry” into finding the requested items, and state in your response that you have made this effort. You must describe which items will not be produced, and why they cannot be produced.

13. Propounding and Responding to Written Discovery Responding to Requests for Admission
Your answers must be as complete and straightforward as possible (California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) § ), and be accurate to the best of your knowledge. There are three basic responses to a request for admission:
Admit. With this answer, you are indicating that the fact is true. If part of a statement is true, you must admit that portion of the statement. Once you admit a fact, it will be considered true throughout the entirety of the case. These facts can only be overturned by filing a complicated motion with the court.
Deny. With this answer, you are indicating that the fact is not true. This may mean that the entire statement is untrue, or that portions are untrue. If the statement is partially true, you must admit the true part(s) of the fact and deny the false part(s) of the fact (CCP § (b)(1) & (2)).
If you deny the truthfulness of a fact, the other party will need to prove that fact at trial. DO NOT deny all the requests just to make the other party prove every fact. If you are found to have improperly denied a request, the court may order you to pay all attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the other party to prove the fact at trial (CCP § (a)). Additionally, if you purposely deny a fact you know to be true, you are committing perjury and opening yourself to possible criminal charges!
Cannot truthfully admit or deny the matters set forth in this request because (s)he does not have knowledge of these matters, and despite reasonable inquiry into the matter by reviewing all of the records and information available to him, to obtain information from which the truth or falsity of the matter might be learned. This is a legalese way of stating that you do not know if the fact is true, and that after carefully reviewing all the evidence available to you, you cannot determine if the fact is true or false. You are required to perform a reasonable investigation of the evidence available to you before making this response (CCP § (c)). If you do not, the requesting party may file a motion to have the facts deemed admitted by the court, or a motion to compel further responses, both of which may carry sanctions (monetary penalties) against you. If your failure to investigate results in the fact needing to be proven at trial, the court may order you to pay all attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the other party to prove the fact at trial (CCP § (a)).