Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois

In a civil lawsuit in IL involving a foreign company operating in the USA, the defendant has returned SOME requests for discovery and answers to questions written in their native foreign language.

Is the defendant allowed to do this?

The lawsuit relates to matters they conducted with me in English. They are fully able to conduct their business in both written and spoken English. I believe they are hiding key facts by, selectively, not using English.

Thanks


Asked on 4/21/13, 3:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Chen Kasher Chen Kasher

Is this lawsuit pending in state or federal court? Federal judges tend to be less tolerant of discovery games, and are more likely to sanction them for this sort of misconduct.

I've never heard of any party responding to discovery requests in their native language. Presumably, they hired an Illinois licensed attorney to defend them. I'd contact this counsel and ask if his client can respond in English. You can call this your attempt to "meet and confer." If he isn't willing to provide you with valid English language responses or an admissible translation, I'd move to strike and note that you tried to reconcile things with their counsel.

I'd also check if the responses are verified. If they're not, that's an easy way to strike them and ask the court for relief in the form of verified answers in English.

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Answered on 5/07/13, 6:48 pm


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