interrogatories

Interrogatories are a formal set of written questions served by one party to another in civil litigation as part of the discovery process, requiring sworn written answers. They are used to obtain factual information, identify witnesses, establish a chronology, and clarify positions before trial.

Procedural aspects: In federal court, a party may serve no more than 25 interrogatories on any other party, including all discrete subparts, unless a court orders otherwise. The responding party must answer or object within 30 days, with responses signed by the responding party or their attorney and under oath. Each interrogatory must be answered separately. If answering is not possible, the party must state the reason with reasonable diligence. Parties must supplement responses if new information becomes available (duty to supplement under Rule 26(e) in federal practice). Objections are allowed for privilege, burden, or irrelevance, but must be specific; boilerplate objections are often discouraged.

Content and scope: Interrogatories may seek factual information, descriptions of contentions, identification of persons with knowledge, and locations of documents. They are generally directed to a party rather than to nonparties. Answers can be used at trial to prove facts or to impeach witnesses, and may also help prepare for depositions. While they can request identification of documents, production of documents is typically handled by requests for production rather than by interrogatories.

Limitations and variations: State courts use their own rules, which may differ in the number of permissible interrogatories, response times, and allowable objections. Courts may impose protective orders to limit burdensome or invasive questions. Interrogatories are complementary to other discovery tools, such as depositions and requests for production, and are often used to frame subsequent discovery strategies.