Discovery and evidence
Requests for Admission
Requests for admission ask a party to admit or deny specific statements, narrowing what has to be proven at trial.
Anything admitted is conclusively established for the case, which makes these the cheapest way to lock down authenticity of documents and undisputed background facts. Silence is dangerous: a request that goes unanswered for thirty days is deemed admitted.
Denying something that later proves true has a price. The requesting party can move to recover the cost of proving the fact, which is one of the few automatic fee-shifting rules in civil discovery.
They are also a cheap way to prepare exhibits for trial. Getting authenticity admitted in advance means nobody has to call a records custodian to prove that an email is what it appears to be. Unlike interrogatories, there is no numerical limit in the federal rules for requests directed at document authenticity, which is why parties serve hundreds of them before trial.
How it appears on a docket
MOTION to Determine the Sufficiency of Answers to Requests for Admission, arguing that defendant's qualified denials are evasive.
Governing rule
Fed. R. Civ. P. 36
Related terms
- Interrogatories — Interrogatories are written questions one party sends another, which must be answered in writing and under oath.
- Exhibit — An exhibit is a document or object attached to a filing or offered at trial as proof of something.
More on discovery and evidence
See this term in a real case
Search federal court records and read the filings where requests for admission actually shows up. New to federal dockets? Start with how to find a federal case.