Part XII Responding To Interrogatories Responding To Interrogatories

• Jurisdiction: New York

Part XII —
Responding to Interrogatories

In the last issue, the Legal Writer discussed writing interrogatories. In this issue, we’ll discuss responding to interrogatories.

After you’ve been served with interrogatories, you must respond. Here’s a step-by-step guide to responding to interrogatories:⁴⁰²

Determine your deadline to respond. As discussed in the last issue of the Legal Writer, you have 20 days to respond.

Give your client a copy of the interrogatories. You’ll need your client to help you respond.

Review the interrogatories.

Determine which interrogatories seek information that’s burdensome or vague. We’ll discuss later in this column what you need to do when an interrogatory is burdensome or vague.

Determine which interrogatories are objectionable. We’ll discuss later on in this article what objections to assert and why.

Determine which interrogatories seek information that your client doesn’t have.

Determine which interrogatories address the same issues. Address them once instead of repeating yourself.

Determine whether you’ll need more than 20 days to respond to the interrogatories. Determine how you’ll get an extension. The best way is to contact the party that served you with the interrogatories to ask for an extension. If that party agrees, put the terms of your agreement in a letter or stipulation. If your adversary refuses to give you extra time, move the court to extend your time to respond.

Determine from the information or documents your client has given you what might be privileged or confidential. Don’t divulge or turn over privileged or confidential information. If applicable, understand your client’s business; you might need to know what information or documents are sensitive and proprietary.

Draft preliminary answers to the interrogatories. You have several options on how you’ll respond: (1) answer the interrogatory completely without objecting to it; (2) object to the interrogatory as improper; (3) state that the responding party (and its agents, employees, or attorneys) have insufficient information to answer the interrogatory; or (4) move the court for a protective order denying or limiting the use of the interrogatories.

Send the preliminary answers to your client to review.

Meet with your client to get additional information or clarification about the case and the issues. You or your client might need to interview other people like corporate officers, directors, members, agents, or employees to answer the interrogatories.

Make sure your clients understand that they must swear under oath about the truth and accuracy of their responses.

After getting your client’s input, review the responses. Send them back to your client for further review.

If you’re providing documents in response to the interrogatories, mark the documents so that you catalogue and identify what you’re sending to your adversary.

Write clearly. Avoid legalese. Don’t be flippant, insulting, obnoxious, or sarcastic. Although your responses need not be filed with the court, write the responses with the trier-of-fact (judge or jury) in mind. ⁴⁰³ Understand that your adversary might use the response to interrogatories against your client as an admission or to impeach your client.

Don’t obfuscate the facts. If you’re disclosing information that’s harmful to your client’s case, put it in the best possible light for your client. Make your client likable. Be honest: Include the good and the bad facts.

Include your client’s certification under oath.

Serve the response to interrogatories on each party in the case. ⁴⁰⁴ If a party is represented by an attorney, serve the attorney. Serve a copy — not the original — of the response to interrogatories. ⁴⁰⁵ Retain the original. Neither the original interrogatories nor the response to interrogatories need be filed with the court.

Format of Your Responses

Put the case caption at the top of your response.

Title your document to identify who’s responding to the interrogatories, who propounded the interrogatories, whether you’re responding to an initial or follow-up set of interrogatories, and whether your responses are supplemental responses. ⁴⁰⁶ Example: “Defendant XYZ’s Responses to Plaintiff Joe Johnson’s Second Set of Interrogatories.”

Your responses to interrogatories must be in writing. ⁴⁰⁷

Answer each interrogatory separately. ⁴⁰⁸

Answer each interrogatory “fully.” ⁴⁰⁹ Your responses to each interrogatory should be complete based on the responding party’s knowledge. ⁴¹⁰

Repeat the interrogatory question in your response. ⁴¹¹ Don’t include your responses without re-writing the interrogatories. For example, if you’re responding to Interrogatory No. 1, you’d write:

Interrogatory No. 1

Identify the individuals who provided information or drafted responses, or both, to plaintiff’s interrogatories.

Response to Interrogatory No. 1

Paul Shark and John Roberts.

You may respond to an interrogatory by referring to a response you made to a prior interrogatory. Example:

Interrogatory No. 2

Identify each person you know or believe has knowledge or information about plaintiff’s efforts to mitigate its damages.

Response to Interrogatory No. 2

See response to Interrogatory No. 1 of these interrogatories.

The person supplying the responses to the interrogatories must swear under oath that the responses are true. You, the attorney, may not affirm. It’s your client who will provide the answers to the interrogatories; thus, your client is the one who must provide that certification. Attach a separate certification page to the response. Example:

CERTIFICATION ⁴¹²
STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF NEW YORK

Jane Jackson, being duly sworn, affirms that she is an officer of Law Corp., the plaintiff in this action; that she has read the foregoing Plaintiff’s Answers to Defendants’ First Set of Interrogatories and is familiar with the contents thereof; and that she knows the contents to be true, based on her personal knowledge and her review of company records, except with respect to those matters stated on information and belief, which she believes to be true.

Jane Jackson’s Signature

Notary signature, date, and stamp

Common Objections

Under CPLR 3133(a), you needn’t answer an interrogatory if you have a good-faith...