Special interrogatories in Caifornia litigation are the topic of this isssue of the weekly legal newsletter from LegalDocsPro. This is is issue number 2.

1. The topic of the newsletter this week is the use of special interrogatories in California civil
litigation. Special interrogatories are a vital tool for obtaining the facts, witnesses and
documents on which a contention is based so they can be reviewed.
The rules governing special interrogatories are found in Code of Civil Procedure § 2030.010, et
seq.
Code of Civil Procedure § 2030.010 states that, “(a) Any party may obtain discovery within the
scope delimited by Chapters 2 (commencing with Section 2017.010) and 3 (commencing with
Section 2017.710), and subject to the restrictions set forth in Chapter 5 (commencing with
Section 2019.010), by propounding to any other party to the action written interrogatories to be
answered under oath. (b) An interrogatory may relate to whether another party is making a
certain contention, or to the facts, witnesses, and writings on which a contention is based. An
interrogatory is not objectionable because an answer to it involves an opinion or contention that
relates to fact or the application of law to fact, or would be based on information obtained or
legal theories developed in anticipation of litigation or in preparation for trial.”
A defendant may propound special interrogatories at any time, however a plaintiff may not do so
until at least ten (10) days have passed since service of the summons on the defendant, or the
general appearance by the defendant, whichever occurs first. See Code of Civil Procedure §
2030.020.
There is a numerical limit of thirty five (35) on the number of special interrogatories. However if
a supporting declaration stating that any additional interrogatories are warranted due to the
complexity of the case and other certain factors is attached, then any party may propound more
additional special interrogatories. See Code of Civil Procedure §§ 2030.030 and 2030.050.
These rules only apply in an unlimited civil case, in which the amount being demanded in
the lawsuit is more than $25,000.
There are certain format restrictions on special interrogatories. No special interrogatory may
contain subparts, or a compound, conjunctive or disjunctive question. See Code of Civil
Procedure § 2030.060. This means that a special interrogatory cannot contain part a, b, c, etc.,
nor can it contain a question with more than one part, and it cannot contain the word “and”
which is conjunctive, it also cannot contain the word “or” which is disjunctive. Although many
special interrogatories do violate these format rules any party using such a format runs the risk of
the opposing party objecting on those grounds.
While depositions are also a vital tool they have limitations, particularly the fact that deposition
questions may not ask party deponent to state all facts, list all witnesses and identify all
documents that support or pertain to particular contention in that party's pleadings, although that
information is discoverable when sought by written interrogatory. Rifkind v. Superior Court
(1994) 22 Cal.App.4th 1255, 1257.
The California courts have ruled that the scope of discovery in California civil litigation is very
broad. Any doubts are applied liberally in favor of discovery.

2. For discovery purposes, information is relevant if it might reasonably assist a party in evaluating
case, preparing for trial, or facilitating settlement. Gonzalez v. Superior Court (City of San
Fernando (1995) 33 Cal.App.4th 1539, 1546.
Admissibility is not the test and information, unless privileged, is discoverable if it might
reasonably lead to admissible evidence. Davies v. Superior Court (1984) 36 Cal.3d 291, 301
These rules are applied liberally in favor of discovery. Colonial Life & Accident Ins. Co. v.
Superior Court (1982) 31 Cal.3d 785, 790, and (contrary to popular belief), fishing expeditions
are permissible in some cases. Greyhound Corp. v. Superior Court (1961) 56 Cal.2d 355, 385,
(“although fishing may be improper or abused in some cases, that "is not of itself an indictment
of the fishing expedition per se”.)
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Yours Truly,
Stan Burman
The author of this newsletter, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal who has worked in
California and Federal litigation since 1995, and recently relocated to Asia.
Copyright 2013 Stan Burman. All rights reserved.
DISCLAIMER:
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