What is Discovery in a Florida Foreclosure Case?
One of the many duties of a foreclosure lawyer practicing in Northeast Florida is the responsibility of performing discovery. Discovery request can come in many types of forms. Requests for production, interrogatories, and depositions are three of the most common forms of discovery. When a lawyer is conducting "discovery" he or she is asking to learn information about the opposing party. All good lawyers do a general request for production when he or she becomes retained by the client. The type of case will determine the type of documents needed to request. The requests must be relevant and must reasonably lead to evidence. If not, the opposing party may object to the requests as long as the objections are timely. The timeliness factor may be different from jurisdiction to jurisdiction but generally it is about 30 days from receipt of the request. Some requests may be answered and provided while some may be objected to. In addition, each court/jurisdiction has their own rules. Criminal procedure is much different than civil or family law procedure.
What is a deposition? A deposition is an opportunity for one party to ask the opposing party (or party's representative) questions. The deposition is under oath and is considered sworn testimony. What does that mean? It means you can be prosecuted for perjury if you live under oath. There are rules that apply to the setting of deposition, who and who cannot be deposed, and what questions that can and cannot be asked during the deposition. Attorneys use the answers to these questions to have a better understanding of the facts so when they put legal arguments together, it all flows and makes sense. Depositions can be expensive and usually the party moving forward with the deposition has to bear the cost. Failure to appear for a deposition after someone has been duly noticed can pose problems for the party who failed to show. Sanctions may be imposed and costs awarded to the opposing party.
What is an interrogatory? An interrogatory is a question that must be answered by the party for which the question is directed to and it too is under oath.The questions are generally filed with the court. The questions must be answered in a timely manner. If an opposing party fails to answer timely, the moving party can ask the court to compel the noncooperating party to answer the questions. If that doesn't work, more sanctions and costs can be assessed. Requests for admissions are another popular channel for discovery. A request for admission basically speaks for itself but generally requires the responding party to admit to a fact. These two are also deemed under oath and sanctions can be imposed for failing to timely respond.
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Greg Gilbert
Keith Maynard
