Interrogatories
(Defendant to Plaintiff) (Federal)

Summary

This template includes interrogatories that may be used by a defendant in a federal district court case. It contains drafting notes. Interrogatories Generally Interrogatories are a frequently used discovery device, consisting of written questions propounded by one party to another—whether an opposing party or co-party. Interrogatories may relate to any matter, not privileged, relevant to the claims and defenses of any party, and proportional to the needs of the case. The responding party must either answer the interrogatories in writing and under oath or object to them. The answers are admissions of a party and are admissible at trial to the extent permitted by the rules of evidence. Rule 33(b) requires that you serve written objections and/or responses within 30 days of being served with interrogatories. There is a duty to provide information known by the client and counsel in response to the interrogatory. Procedure Interrogatories may be served after the Rule 26(f) conference up through the close of discovery, provided that the interrogatory responses are due prior to the discovery cut-off date. Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(d)(1); see also Wagstaffe Prac. Guide: Fed. Civ. Proc. Before Trial § 35-I[B][3]. Any party may serve interrogatories on any other party to the action, including third-party plaintiffs and defendants. Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a)(1). A maximum of 25 interrogatories may be served on each party, though nominally separate parties may be deemed one party for purposes of the 25-interrogatory limitation. Leave of court is required to serve more than 25 interrogatories per party. Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a)(1), 26(b)(2); see also Wagstaffe Prac. Guide: Fed. Civ. Proc. Before Trial § 35-I[B][4]. Unless stipulated to or ordered by the court, responses, including any objections, must be served within 30 days of the date the interrogatories were served; the responding party has three extra days to respond to interrogatories not personally served (i.e., mailed or transmitted electronically). Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(2); see Rule 6(d); see also Wagstaffe Prac. Guide: Fed. Civ. Proc. Before Trial § 35-I[C][1]. Objections must be stated "with specificity" and served within 30 days of the date the interrogatories were served or they are deemed waived, unless the court finds good cause to excuse the waiver. Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(b)(4). There is no time limit to bring a motion to compel, but it should be brought within a reasonable time after it becomes clear that the parties have reached an impasse and motion practice is therefore necessary. Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(a)(3)(B)(iii). Related Content For a full listing of key content covering fundamental civil litigation tasks throughout a federal court litigation lifecycle, see Civil Litigation Fundamentals Resource Kit (Federal). For more on interrogatories, see Interrogatories: Drafting and Serving Interrogatories (Federal) and Interrogatories: Responding to Interrogatories (Federal).