You've been served with a formal Request for Admissions ... what does that mean? Can I object to the form of the question? How do I respond? What is the affect on my case if I fail to respond or otherwise respond with an admission? What if I deny the Request?
Requests for Admissions are very powerful discovery tools. Code of Civil Procedure section 2033.010, et seq., describe what this type of discovery is, and the subsequent sections respond to the issues identified above.
What it is: "Any party may obtain discovery ... by a written request that any other party to the action admit the genuineness of specified documents, or the truth of specified matters of fact, opinion relating to fact, or application of law to fact. A request for admission may relate to a matter that is in controversy between the parties."
CCP section 2033.020 provides when requests for admissions may be made - by defendants, at any time without leave of court; by plaintiff(s) as soon as 10 days after service of the summons (5 days after service of summons in unlawful detainer cases).
CCP section 2033.030 - There is a 35 request limit, though this may be exceeded with proper declarations.
CCP sections 2033.210, et seq. deal with responses. You may admit, deny in whole, or deny in part, any request for admission. In addition, you may object to the request and either provide a response or not. For instance, the form of the request may provide insufficient factual information for the responding party to either admit or deny the response. In that case, the common response is, "There is insufficient facts for Responding party to either admit or deny, and on that basis alone, denies this request." Hopefully, the parties thereafter "meet and confer" so that the request is clarified enough for the responding party to either admit or deny.
A great discovery tactic is to utilize Form Interrogatory No. 17.1 concurrently with a Request for Admissions. Form Interrogatory No. 17.1 requires that the responding party provide all facts, identify witnesses, and describe documentation that supports any denial of a request for admission. Since requests may be utilized even to examine direct controversies between the parties, an opposing party can delve into the "beef" of a party's case.
Also, if a party responds with an admission to a particular set of facts, then the Requesting party may use that admission at trial. Also, if a party fails to respond to a request for admissions, the court may deem all requests as being admitted. It is a serious consequence with serious repercussions.
I hope this provides further insight into litigation discovery tactics! Have a great weekend!
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