Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I am a pro se plaintiff in a civil case and received from defendant attorney a set of interrogatories,request for production of documents and request for admissions.In the interrogatories he asks for personal and irrelevant to the case questions.In request for admissions he asks me to admit the opposite of what I alleged in my lawsuit allegations. In request for documents he asks for numerous long and often unrelated documents.
The defendant wants me to answer in 30 days.
I now understand this is part of discovery process.
COULD I SEND THE DEFENDANT INTERROGATORIES,REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS AND REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS?
COULD I REQUEST THE DEFENDANT ANSWERS IN 14 DAYS?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Yes, you can have discovery served too. No, you cannot shorten the time on your own. The code only allows the court to shorten time, and I've never seen it done.
Mr. Roach is right. Bear in mind that, if your trial date has been set, there is a discovery cutoff date as well. If you serve your discovery so late that responses are due after the cutoff date, then the other side will not have to respond unless you persuade the court to order them to. The court would only do that if you have a *very* good reason. "I didn't know the rules" won't cut it.
The rules for discovery are set forth in the California Code of Civil Procedure. I suggest you review those rules to learn how it works, what you can do, and what you cannot do.
It is extremely easy to damage your case in discovery by not following the rules or by not seeking the right information. I encourage you to hire a lawyer on a limited-representation basis to advise you on an as-needed basis, if you decide to continue representing yourself in this action.
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