Discovery

Question 1

General District Court

Answer 1

No Discovery as a general matter.

Can compel a witness’s attendance at trial through subpoena or subpoena duces tecum (“bring stuff with you”) addressed to parties or non parties. Should file subpoena at least 15 days before trial. After that must show good cause.

Question 2

Required Disclosures

Answer 2

None

Question 3

Timing

Answer 3

21 days to respond to discovery requests

Question 4

Maximum number of Interrogatories?

Answer 4

VA 30 ; Federal 25

Question 5

Is there a rule number on depositions?

Answer 5

In VA No.

In federal court you cannot take more than 10 or depose someone twice without court permission.

Question 6

What is discoverable?

Answer 6

Material that is relevant to the subject matter of the pending actions. It must be reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence.

Parties can seek documents even though they would not be admissible at trial.

Question 7

Mary tells you her husband Pete was hit by a car driven by Dan and is severely injured. He is in the hospital and unconscious. Dan is a citizen of VA. The officer who investigated the accident tells Mary that there were two eyewitnesses. Both are Brazilian and are about to return home soon.

What can Mary do to advance Pete’s potential case against Dan?

Answer 7

1) Become Pete’s fiduciary and sue Dan. Notice the witnesses deposition and subpoena them. Usually you need a court order to take a deposition within 21 days of filing but not if witnesses are about to leave the jurisdiction.

2) File a verified petition in circuit court where Dan resides, seeking perpetuation of testimony. Court can order even though no suit has been filed.

Question 8

What happens if a party fails to properly respond to an RFA?

Answer 8

The court can take it as an admission.

Question 9

In cases where P is seeking punitive damages, can P get information about D’s net worth and gross earnings?

Answer 9

Yes, because it is relevant. In order to punish D we need to know how much money they have.

Question 10

Can a party respond to an interrogatory by referring the other party to a document where the response can be found?

Answer 10

Yes, as long as it is done with sufficient detail.

Question 11

Producing Documents

Answer 11

Documents produced must be presented as kept in the usual course of business and labeled to correspond with the categories in the request.