Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
The admissions, answered incorrectly & given to plaintiff by defendant...
My brother is being sued for breach of contract. He is doing this ''in pro per''. We have evidence that the plaintiff committed fraud. Before I could consult w/ an attorney, my brother (in discovery) answered the admissions incorrectly (regarding the genuineness of documents) and did not understand some of the questions of the interrogatories. The plaintiff's lawyer has requested a redo. I have since talked to an atty and can help my brother understand so he can make corrections.
Question: (legal aid did not help him one bit). Can he now start fresh & give the correct answers since he has learned what they actually want. Will the first set be held against him?
ALSO: his wife got an identical set of admissions, interrogatories (form & special), req. for documents etc. Her answers & docs will be virtually identical to his. Is this overkill? Can she sign something that states she is in agreement with her husbands answers? They are unemployed and don't have the money to make copies of two sets of the same documents.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: The admissions, answered incorrectly & given to plaintiff by defendant...
Disclaimer: The materials provided below are informational and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
Unless your brother is familiar with the substantive laws and legal procedures, he should immediately retain a lawyer for his case. You should consult your own attorney to protect your legal rights.
Re: The admissions, answered incorrectly & given to plaintiff by defendant...
Your brother can serve amended or corrected responses, but doing so will not erase the responses he originally served. The inconsistencies can be used against him -- especially where he now wants to retract an admission that was helpful to the plaintiffs.
Your brother's wife must file complete, separate responses of her own, even if they are very similar to her husband's. Doing so isn't "overkill"; it's required. She is not allowed to simply say she agrees with his responses.
Opposing counsel will probably agree that they need not produce redundant sets of documents, but this is something they should work out before serving their responses.
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