Requests for admission under Rule 36

Requests for admission under Rule 36

An adversary proceeding is a lawsuit filed within a bankruptcy case. It is an action commenced by a plaintiff filing a complaint against one or more defendants. An adversary proceeding resembles a typical civil case from state court. The plaintiff is the person, partnership or corporation initiating the lawsuit.

Discovery in adversary proceedings is permitted pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP). While depositions are permitted the use of other discovery methods is often more cost effective.

The scope of discovery under Rule 26(b) is very broad. “Parties may obtain discovery regarding any nonprivileged matter that is relevant to any party’s claim or defense — including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any documents or other tangible things and the identity and location of persons who know of any discoverable matter. For good cause, the court may order discovery of any matter relevant to the subject matter involved in the action. Relevant information need not be admissible at the trial if the discovery appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”

 
 
REQUESTS FOR ADMISSION UNDER RULE 36 OF THE FRCP
 
Requests for admission as to the truth of facts or genuineness of documents are permitted. There is no numerical limit to the number of requests but a party served with excessive requests may seek leave of court to limit the number of requests.

A party may serve on any other party a written request to admit, for purposes of the pending action only, the truth of any matters within the scope of Rule 26(b)(1) relating to:

(A) facts, the application of law to fact, or opinions about either; and

(B) the genuineness of any described documents.

Each matter must be separately stated. A request to admit the genuineness of a document must be accompanied by a copy of the document unless it is, or has been, otherwise furnished or made available for inspection and copying.

A matter is admitted unless, within 30 days after being served, the party to whom the request is directed serves on the requesting party a written answer or objection addressed to the matter and signed by the party or its attorney.

If a matter is not admitted, the answer must specifically deny it or state in detail why the answering party cannot truthfully admit or deny it. A denial must fairly respond to the substance of the matter; and when good faith requires that a party qualify an answer or deny only a part of a matter, the answer must specify the part admitted and qualify or deny the rest. The answering party may assert lack of knowledge or information as a reason for failing to admit or deny only if the party states that it has made reasonable inquiry and that the information it knows or can readily obtain is insufficient to enable it to admit or deny.

The grounds for objecting to a request must be stated. A party must not object solely on the ground that the request presents a genuine issue for trial.

The requesting party may move to determine the sufficiency of an answer or objection. Unless the court finds an objection justified, it must order that an answer be served. On finding that an answer does not comply with this rule, the court may order either that the matter is admitted or that an amended answer be served. The court may defer its final decision until a pretrial conference or a specified time before trial.

A matter admitted under this rule is conclusively established unless the court, on motion, permits the admission to be withdrawn or amended. Subject to Rule 16(e), the court may permit withdrawal or amendment if it would promote the presentation of the merits of the action and if the court is not persuaded that it would prejudice the requesting party in maintaining or defending the action on the merits. An admission under this rule is not an admission for any other purpose and cannot be used against the party in any other proceeding.

The author of this article, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal with extensive experience in adversary proceedings in bankruptcy court.  Mr. Burman may be contacted by e-mail at DivParalgl@yahoo.com for more information.

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