Are You Being SUED?! How to Respond to Discovery Requests
Are you being sued? Have you been served with discovery? Being served with a lawsuit can be an extremely stressful situation. Lucky for you I am here to help navigate how to proceed!
If you have previously been or are currently involved in civil litigation in some capacity you have likely heard the term “discovery.” If you have been asked to respond to discovery in a case, you may feel overwhelmed and confused about the process of responding. Here we will discuss the process you should go through when responding to discovery as well as some tips that will help you respond to the discovery requests effectively and accurately.
WHAT IS DISCOVERY?
Discovery is the pre-trial process that allows parties in a lawsuit to gather information from each other as well as from third parties which may be relevant to the case. There are three types of discovery that you may be required to respond to: interrogatories, requests for production of documents, and requests for admission.
Your attorney will review all discovery received and provide you with the portions that you need to respond to. Once you have received discovery requests you should:
Contact Your Attorney
If your attorney does not already have copies of the discovery requests then you will want to contact your attorney. Make sure you send the attorney everything that was sent to you. If you are being sued for an auto accident and you do not already have an attorney you will want to contact your auto insurance company, provided you had auto insurance at the time of the accident. Your auto insurance company will hire an attorney to defend you against the lawsuit.
Make Note of the Deadline
You will want to ensure that you make note of the deadline provided in the discovery requests. Make sure to mark this date in a place you reference often so that you do not miss responding by the deadline.
Carefully Review Requests
After your initial review of the discovery requests, make sure you read the requests again ensuring that you understand what is being asked as well as what documents are being requested from you. Notate any questions you have and set up a time to speak with your attorney regarding those questions.
Gather Requested Information
You will likely be able to answer some of the questions from memory, but several questions will likely require that you reference documentation in order to accurately respond. Make a list of the documentation or information you need to gather and begin collecting those items. This may include emails, text messages, photographs, documents, and other types of physical or electronic data.
Respond Fully and Accurately
When responding to discovery requests, it is important that you answer fully and accurately even if that information hurts your case because your answers can later be used against you if your case proceeds to trial. Providing false or misleading information can also result in sanctions.
Consider Whether the Information Being Requested is Privileged and/or Confidential Information
You will want to make sure you are being mindful if the questions or requests are seeking privileged or confidential information. You will want to discuss those specific discovery questions or requests that seeks privileged or confidential information. Your attorney will help direct you on what information does and does not have to be provided. You attorney may require you provide your attorney with everything so that your attorney may conduct a review of what you have sent. Your attorney will then invoke privilege or raise confidentially concerns on your behalf.
