State Court Discovery - Interrogatories

STATE COURT DISCOVERY – INTERROGATORIES

[COURT OF COMMON PLEAS]

[COUNTY], OHIO

DOCUMENT TITLE

PLAINTIFF [PLAINTIFF NAME],
  Plaintiff,
v.
DEFENDANT [DEFENDANT NAME],
  Defendant.

Case No.: ________________
Judge: ___________________

PLAINTIFF’S FIRST SET OF INTERROGATORIES TO DEFENDANT
[Ohio R. Civ. P. 33]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introductory Statement and Rule 33 Certification
2. Definitions
3. General Instructions
4. Specific Interrogatories (Nos. 1-40)
5. Verification
6. Certificate of Service

1. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT AND RULE 33 CERTIFICATION

Pursuant to Ohio Rule of Civil Procedure 33(A) and the Scheduling Order entered in this action, Plaintiff propounds the following Interrogatories to Defendant. The total number of discrete interrogatories, including subparts, does not exceed forty (40) as required by Rule 33(A).

Defendant must serve written answers or objections, separately and fully, within twenty-eight (28) days of service hereof, unless the Court orders otherwise. Each answer must be made under oath and signed by the answering party, and any objections must comply with Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure 33 and 26.

2. DEFINITIONS

For purposes of these Interrogatories, the following terms shall have the meanings set forth below:

A. “Action” means the above-captioned lawsuit and any related proceedings.
B. “Communication” or “Communications” means any oral or written statement, dialogue, discussion, email, text message, social media post, or other transmission of information, including any document memorializing same.
C. “Document” and “Documents” are defined to be synonymous in meaning and scope with the usage of those terms in Ohio R. Civ. P. 34(A).
D. “Identify” or “Identification” with respect to:

1. a natural person – full name, present or last-known address, telephone number, and relationship to the parties;
2. an entity – full legal name, form of organization, principal place of business, and the identity of the entity’s representative most knowledgeable about the subject matter;
3. a document – date, author, recipient(s), type of document (e.g., letter, contract), subject matter, and present custodian.
   E. “Person” means any natural person or legal entity, including but not limited to corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, unincorporated associations, governmental bodies, and agencies.
   F. “You,” “Your,” “Defendant,” or “Responding Party” refers to [DEFENDANT NAME], together with all present and former agents, employees, representatives, and attorneys acting or purporting to act on its behalf.

3. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

1. Duty to Supplement: These Interrogatories are continuing. Pursuant to Ohio R. Civ. P. 26(E), Defendant must seasonably amend or supplement its answers should it obtain additional responsive information.
2. Form of Answers: Each Interrogatory must be reproduced immediately before the corresponding answer. Answers must be in writing, under oath, and signed by the party; objections must be signed by the attorney.
3. Objections: If an objection is made, state with specificity the ground(s) and respond to any unobjectionable portion. General or blanket objections are improper.
4. Privilege or Protection: If information is withheld on a claim of privilege or work-product protection, furnish a privilege log that complies with Ohio R. Civ. P. 26(B)(6), identifying the nature of the documents, communications, or things withheld, without revealing privileged information itself.

5. Interpretation:
   a. Construe each Interrogatory in the broadest reasonable manner to elicit all non-privileged, responsive information.
   b. The conjunctions “and” and “or” are to be read in the disjunctive and conjunctive, as necessary to bring within the scope of the Interrogatory all information that might otherwise be construed to be outside its scope.

6. Time Period: Unless otherwise stated, the relevant period is [START DATE] to the present.

7. Computation of Time: Compute any time period in accordance with Ohio R. Civ. P. 6.

4. SPECIFIC INTERROGATORIES

INTERROGATORY NO. 1:
Identify each person who participated in preparing the answers to these Interrogatories, specifying the Interrogatory numbers to which each such person contributed.

INTERROGATORY NO. 2:
State the factual basis for each affirmative defense asserted in your pleadings, including identification of all documents and witnesses that support each defense.

INTERROGATORY NO. 3:
Identify all persons with knowledge of any facts alleged in the Complaint or your Answer, stating the subject matter of each person’s knowledge.

INTERROGATORY NO. 4:
Describe in detail the chronology of events you contend gave rise to the transaction or occurrence at issue in this Action.

INTERROGATORY NO. 5:
State the amount of damages you contend Plaintiff caused and describe the method used to compute those damages.

INTERROGATORY NO. 6:
Identify all insurance policies that may provide coverage for the claims asserted in the Action, including policy number, type of coverage, policy limits, and issuing carrier.

INTERROGATORY NO. 7:
For each document identified in your initial disclosures pursuant to Ohio R. Civ. P. 26(B)(3), state whether the document is in your possession, custody, or control; if not, identify its current custodian.

INTERROGATORY NO. 8:
Identify any expert witness you expect to call at trial, including the subject matter of the expert’s testimony, the substance of the opinions, and the bases therefor.

INTERROGATORY NO. 9:
Describe with particularity every communication between you and Plaintiff relating to the matters alleged in the Complaint.

INTERROGATORY NO. 10:
State each statement of any party or witness that you have recorded, transcribed, or summarized, and identify the custodian of each such statement.

[Continue sequentially up to Interrogatory No. 40 or fewer as required.]

5. VERIFICATION

I, [NAME], being first duly sworn, state that I am the [TITLE/POSITION] of [DEFENDANT NAME]; that I have read the foregoing Answers to Interrogatories; and that the answers are true and complete to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.

_____________________________________
[NAME], [TITLE]
[DEFENDANT NAME]

STATE OF OHIO )
          ) ss:
COUNTY OF _______)

Subscribed and sworn before me on this ___ day of __________, 20__, by _________________________.

_____________________________________
Notary Public, State of Ohio
My Commission Expires: _____________

6. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that a true and accurate copy of the foregoing Plaintiff’s First Set of Interrogatories to Defendant was served on [DATE], via [ELECTRONIC FILING/EMAIL/HAND DELIVERY/U.S. MAIL] upon:

[OPPOSING COUNSEL NAME]
[LAW FIRM]
[ADDRESS]
[EMAIL]

_____________________________________
[ATTORNEY NAME] (Bar No. _____)
Counsel for Plaintiff
[LAW FIRM]
[ADDRESS]
[TELEPHONE]
[EMAIL]

IMPORTANT PRACTICE NOTES

1. Discovery Limits (Ohio R. Civ. P. 33(A)): 40 interrogatories, including discrete subparts, absent leave of court or stipulation.
2. Response Deadline (Rule 33(A)): 28 days after service. Consider coordinating service to align with other discovery deadlines.
3. Privilege Log (Rule 26(B)(6)): Must describe withheld materials sufficiently to allow assessment of the claim without revealing privileged information.
4. E-Discovery: If electronically stored information (“ESI”) is implicated, confer early regarding format and scope to avoid later motion practice.
5. Enforcement: A deficient or untimely answer may justify a motion to compel and an award of expenses under Rule 37(A)(5).

© [YEAR] [LAW FIRM NAME]. All rights reserved.
This template provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult Ohio counsel before use.