1. PA110 Civil Litigation I
Unit 6 Seminar

2. Unit 6 & 7 Assignments
Deadline: 11:59 PM ET, Tuesday, December 21 & 28, Units 6 & 7 respectively
Dropbox items for Unit 6:
Unit 6 Action Item 1 (85 points)
Unit 7 Action Item 2 (85 points)

3. Unit 6 Action Item
Using the information you've collected thus far in the Justin King case, draft five (5) interrogatories to the Plaintiff and five (5) interrogatories to one Defendant, a TOTAL OF TEN (10) interrogatories.
See assignments posted in Doc Sharing

4. Unit 7 Action Item 1
Complete two (2) requests for production from the Plaintiff, Justin King, to one Defendant AND two (2) requests for production from one Defendant to Plaintiff, Justin King. 

5. Formal Discovery Discovery: formal exchange of information between the
parties
Types of formal discovery:
Interrogatories
Requests for production of documents
Depositions
Independent medical exam
Requests for admissions
Request for inspection

6. Requests for Production of Documents
Party may offer to produce records for examination in response to interrogatories seeking the contents of business records
FRCP 34 cannot be used to compel a party to prepare a document that does not already exist.

7. Response to Requests for Production
produce business records in the same form and condition as they are normally used in the respondent’s business.

8. Interrogatories
Tool of formal discovery that permits a party to obtain written answers to questions about a case
Limit: Under federal rules, only 25 interrogatories

9. Requests for Admissions
Must be served on the other party
Must be in writing
May be used in conjunction with interrogatories
Federal Rules do not specify a limit
Once made, an admission cannot be corrected or
withdrawn without consent of other party or court (judicial admission)

10. Independent Medical Exam (IME)
“The court … may order a party whose mental or physical condition is in controversy to submit to a physical or mental examination ”
Court may compel if medical condition “at issue”
Examiner’s Report

11. Persons Required to Submit to IME
Parties
Dependent child of parents who bring suit on behalf of the child
Someone who is directly under the control of a party
Not required:
Employees of a corporation that is a party

12. Defendant’s Right to IME
Unless the plaintiff places his or her physical condition into issue, the defendant does not have a right to an independent medical examination of the plaintiff.
Suing for personal injury damages places the physical condition into issue

13. Requests for Inspection of Documents
Signed by attorney (not paralegal)
scheduling and conducting inspections of property and documents.

14. Consequences for Failure to Submit to IME
Dismiss plaintiff’s lawsuit
Resolve the disputed medical facts against the party
Strike the defendant’s  answer and find the party in default
Note: Contempt of court may not be ordered for failure to submit to an IME

15. Depositions
Discovery procedure that permits one to obtain the most detailed information from an adverse party or witness.

16. Deposition Terminology
Depose (verb): to conduct a deposition Deponent (noun): the person who is being asked the questions during the deposition (party or witness)

17. Recording of Deposition
Court reporter/transcript
Video
Audio tape

18. Ethical Considerations
Only the attorney should ask the questions of the deponent during the deposition

19. Use of Depositions at Trial
May be used as:
substantive evidence (if witness unavailable)
impeachment purposes