Interrogatories in Automobile Accident Cases

Our first blog post in this series focused on Requests for Admission in automobile accident cases. You’ll remember that Requests for Admission ask the other party to admit or deny certain parts of the case. Interrogatories are a useful discovery tool. They are different though because they are asking the other party basically to provide a written response to questions, such as describing, in their own words, how he or she caused a car accident. Georgia law again can appear rather technical, as you can see from O.C.G.A. 9-11-33, but we are going to show you some general templates to help streamline this process for automobile accident cases.

O.C.G.A. 9-11-33: Interrogatories to Parties

(a) Availability; procedures for use.

(1) Any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or a governmental agency, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is available to the party. Interrogatories may, without leave of court, be served upon the plaintiff after commencement of the action and upon any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint upon that party; provided, however, that no party may serve interrogatories containing more than 50 interrogatories, including subparts, upon any other party without leave of court upon a showing of complex litigation or undue hardship incurred if such additional interrogatories are not permitted.

(2) Each interrogatory shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath, unless it is objected to, in which event the reasons for objection shall be stated in lieu of an answer. The answers are to be signed by the person making them, and the objections signed by the attorney making them. The party upon whom the interrogatories have been served shall serve a copy of the answers, and objections if any, within 30 days after the service of the interrogatories, except that a defendant may serve answers or objections within 45 days after service of the summons and complaint upon that defendant. The court may allow a shorter or longer time. The party submitting the interrogatories may move for an order under subsection (a) of Code Section 9-11-37 with respect to any objection to, or other failure to answer, an interrogatory.

(b) Scope; use at trial.

(1) Interrogatories may relate to any matters which can be inquired into under subsection (b) of Code Section 9-11-26, and the answers may be used to the extent permitted by the rules of evidence.

(2) An interrogatory otherwise proper is not necessarily objectionable merely because an answer to the interrogatory involves an opinion or contention that relates to fact or to the application of law to fact; but the court may order that such an interrogatory need not be answered until after designated discovery has been completed or until a pretrial conference or other later time.

(c) Option to produce business records. Where the answer to an interrogatory may be derived or ascertained from the business records of the party upon whom the interrogatory has been served or from an examination, audit, or inspection of such business records, or from a compilation, abstract, or summary based thereon, and the burden of deriving or ascertaining the answer is substantially the same for the party serving the interrogatory as for the party served, it is a sufficient answer to the interrogatory to specify the records from which the answer may be derived or ascertained and to afford to the party serving the interrogatory reasonable opportunity to examine, audit, or inspect such records and to make copies, compilations, abstracts, or summaries.

Just like Requests for Admission in car accident cases, a general template for Interrogatories is a good starting point, and then you can modify them for your specific case. Each case is unique so remember that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” approach so it’s important to contact a car accident attorney right away to help guide you through your case.

Here you go:

IN THE STATE COURT OF [INSERT] COUNTY

STATE OF GEORGIA

[INSERT YOUR NAME],

Plaintiff,

Civil Action File No.:

JURY TRIAL DEMANDED

[INSERT DEFENDANT’S NAME],

Defendant.

PLAINTIFF’S FIRST CONTINUING INTERROGATORIES TO DEFENDANT

1.

State your full name, current address, current employer, date of birth, last four number of your social security number, and driver’s license number.

2.

State the name and address of any person, including any party, who to your knowledge information or belief:

(a)        Was an eyewitness to the incident underlying this litigation;

(b)     Has some knowledge of any fact or circumstance upon which your defense is                                     based; or,

(c)       Has conducted any investigation relating to the incident underlying this litigation or the background, employment, medical history or activities of the Plaintiff.

 3.

Identify any and all statements or reports given by any person identified in your response to Interrogatory No. 2.

 4.

Has any entity issued a policy of liability insurance to you or which is or arguably should be extending insurance coverage to you? If so, please state for each policy:

            (a)        The name of the insurer providing liability insurance;

            (b)       The limits of coverage;

            (c)        The name of the insured on the policy; and,

            (d)       The policy number.

 5.

Has any insurer referred to in your answer to Interrogatory No. 4 denied coverage or reserved its rights to later deny coverage under any such policy of liability insurance? If so, please explain.

 6.

State each and every fact supporting your contention, if made in answering the Complaint for Damages, that the Plaintiffs’ actions contributed to the incident underlying this litigation and identify:

(a)      Each eyewitness that will testify to those facts; and,

(b)      Each and every document or tangible piece of evidence that will evidence those facts.

             7.

If you intend to call any expert or technician as a witness at the trial of this action, for each expert or technician please:

            (a)        State the subject matter on which s/he is expected to testify;

            (b)       State in detail the opinions held by each such expert or technician; and,

            (c)        Give a complete summary of the grounds for each opinion held.

8.

Were you on the business of any individual or entity at the time of the subject incident? If so, please identify any such individual or entity, including name, address and telephone number.

9.

If you have ever been arrested or convicted of any crime (other than minor traffic offenses), even if that arrest or conviction has been removed from your record, please identify each crime or alleged violation, date of arrest, the arresting authority, the court in which any criminal proceeding against you was held, and the disposition of each charge.

10.

State each and every prior collision or prior insurance claim which you are aware of that the Plaintiffs have been involved in, or the Plaintiff has made, and state whether your agents have procured an ISO claims index report.

10.

State each and every fact supporting your contention, if made in answering the Complaint for Damages, that the Plaintiffs’ alleged injuries pre-existed the incident underlying this litigation and identify:

(a)       Each eyewitness that will testify to those facts; and,

(b)       Each and every document or tangible piece of evidence that will evidence those facts.

11.

State each and every fact supporting your contention, if made in answering the Complaint for Damages, that the Plaintiffs have uttered inconsistent statements with regard to material facts at issue in this litigation and identify:

(a)      Each eyewitness that will testify to those facts; and,

(b)     Each and every document or tangible piece of evidence that will evidence those facts.

12.

If you contend that the Plaintiffs has been convicted of pled guilty to a crime of moral turpitude and/or felony, please identify:

(a)        Each eyewitness that will testify to those facts; and,

(b)      Each and every document or tangible piece of evidence that will evidence those facts.

13.

What do you contend caused the incident underlying this litigation?

14.

State each and every fact supporting your contention, if made in answering the Complaint for Damages, that you are not the sole proximate cause of the incident underlying this litigation and identify:

(a)        Each eyewitness that will testify to those facts; and

(b)      Each and every document or tangible piece of evidence that will evidence those facts.

15.

Do you contend that you have been improperly named as a party to this action and/or that improper or incorrect agents for service were utilized to effectuate service upon you? If you answer to either of these inquiries is “yes,” please provide a detailed explanation as to why you contend that you have been improperly named or the agents used for service were improper and provide the complete and correct name of the entities or individuals you contend should have been named and/or served.

16.

Do you contend that venue is improper in this court, that jurisdiction is lacking over you in this Court, or that service of process has been deficient in this matter? If so, please describe and state with specificity all factual and legal basis supporting any such contention(s).

17.

With regard to the vehicle being operated by you at the time of the subject incident, please identify:

(a)        The owner of the vehicle;

(b)       The frequency with which you drove the vehicle;

(c)        Who paid for the gas and maintenance on the vehicle; and

(d)      If you did not own the vehicle, state whether or not you had the permission of the owner to be driving the vehicle at the time of the subject incident.

18.

Do you have a driver’s license? If so, please state when you first acquired any driver’s license, what type it is, and what are/were the restrictions on it.

19.

At any other time, either before or after the subject incident, have you ever been arrested for driving under the influence or for any other drug or alcohol -related charge?

20.

Do you have a cell phone? If so, please state your cell phone number and the name of your cell phone provider.

21.

Please produce a privilege log identifying each and every document you contend is privileged and stating the particular privilege for each.

22.

For each request to admit that you denied, please identify:

(a)        Each eyewitness that will testify to those facts supporting your denial;

(b)       Each and every document or tangible piece of evidence that will evidence facts supporting your denial; and,

(c)        Each fact upon which your denial is based.

24.

Describe in detail how the collision on [INSERT DATE] happened, stating in your answer all events relating thereto in their sequential order, including all actions taken by you to prevent the collision.

25.

State the name, web address, and user name for all blogs, online forums, and social networking websites that you have belonged to or had a membership in the prior twelve (12) months.

This _____ day of _________, ________.

Respectfully submitted,

____________________________________

[INSERT NAME, ADDRESS, AND CONTACT INFORMATION]

We recognize that the key to a successful recovery in an automobile case is a clear discovery path and a willingness to bring your case to court. In fact, we used to represent insurance companies. Strong discovery makes sure that those companies understand you are serious about getting the best result for your car accident. As always, feel free to contact us at (404) 566-5880 or information@patricktriallaw.com if you have any questions about your car accident and need legal assistance.