Discovery: Cut Out the Middleman

There are some interrogatories that you have to ask in every case--the identity of the persons with knowlege, for example, and the identity of the experts. But if you are representing a plaintiff in a situation where there are no court-approved interrogatories, you can often get information from the defendant much more quickly by means of a narrowly-crafted corporate-representative deposition notice, especially if the defense lawyer plans to tie you up for months with interrogatory objections.

By going straight to the corporate representative, you cut out the middleman (that is, the lawyer with the time-wasting objections to your interrogatories). Of course, you'll need to get records first, a step that will pose other opportunities for mischief by your opponent. But if you notice the deposition in advance while your records request is still outstanding, it can provide a sort of leverage to get things moving more quickly.

Related posts:

1. A Tip for Drafting Interrogatories: Less Can Be More

2. Sample Interrogatory: Persons With Knowledge

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Comments

[mythago]

I'm curious about how deposing corporate representatives works in Illinois. In my area of practice in California, it seems that defendants would rather do anything, including settling, rather than actually put a corporate officer's ass in a chair next to a court reporter.

[Evan]

myhtago: In a corporate rep depo, you send the other side a list of topics, then they pick the person most knowledge to answer questions about those topics. It's the same as the federal rule, basically. We have the same procedure in Missouri. It's not the same as, say, asking to depose the president of a company.

[mythago]

Same thing here--we usually notice a "Persons Most Knowledgable" and "Custodian of Records," who can be one and the same, but it's as though you asked them to produce the corpse of their firstborn.