Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Interogs - how many days to respond?

30 days plus 5 for mailing (35 total). You can ask the opposing counsel for a standard 2-week extension and usually they grant it after you confirm the same in writing.

If you don't answer promptly or don't request extension, the opposing party will file a motion to compel discovery with sanctions (a couple of hundred dollars usually) and possibly attorneys fees, so prompt response is a good idea.

Thanks.

Re: Interogs - how many days to respond?

Mr. Itkin's answer presumes that the interrogatories were mailed to you from within California. If they were served personally you don't get the additional 5 days he mentioned. If they were served by fax or by express delivery you get only 2 extra days. You get 10 extra days (40 total) if they were mailed from another state, and 20 extra days (50 total) if they were mailed from another country. All of these periods start when the other side *sends* the interrogatories and not when you receive them.

As Mr. Itkin says, you can ask for extra time. Such requests are usually granted unless there is unusual time pressure, but the other side is allowed to say no.

Mr. Itkin is right that you can be sanctioned if you miss the due date, but slightly wrong about how. He says the sanctions are usually a few hundred dollars but may also include attorney fees. In reality, the sanction would only be for attorney fees (plus expenses of bringing the motion); the purpose of the sanctions is to reimburse the other side, so there is no reason to take any more money than is needed to accomplish that goal.

Sanctions are not all you need to worry about, though. Perhaps the most important consequence of missing the due date is that you will have waived all of your objections -- including objections based on privilege. Restoring your right to object will require you to bring a motion, and even if you win you may have to reimburse the other side for the cost of opposing it.

Good luck.