Ind. Allen Cnty. Civ. Local Rule LR02-TR33-24

Time to Serve, Disputes

A. Interrogatory Preparation. Interrogatories shall be tailored specifically to the

cause in which they are served and be numbered consecutively to facilitate

response.

B. Interrogatory Limit.

(1) A party may serve on any other party no more than fifty (50) written

interrogatories, including subparts. For purposes of this rule, each question asked,

as well as each subpart, constitutes a separate interrogatory, regardless of

whether that part is logically or factually related to another subpart.

(2) The following interrogatories shall not be counted against the above-set fifty

(50) interrogatory limit:

(a) general identifying and background information of a party concerning a

party’s full name, address, birth date, education history, employment history,

criminal history, and past lawsuits or claims;

(b) interrogatories identifying expert witnesses, the name and, if known, the

address and telephone number of each individual who may be called as a

witness (expert or otherwise), and/or who has discoverable information;

(c) interrogatories asking to identify and describe by category and location all

documents, electronically stored information, photographs, videos, written or

recorded statements and tangible things that may be used to support a party’s

claims or defenses; and

(d) interrogatories asking to identify any insurance agreement under which an

insurance business may be liable to satisfy all or part of a possible judgment in

the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payments made to satisfy any

judgment.

C. Serving in Excess of the Limit. Any party desiring to serve interrogatories in

excess of the limit set above shall either:

(1) file a stipulation of the parties, agreeing to the additional interrogatories; or

(2) if agreement cannot be obtained, file a written motion requesting leave of the

Court to serve more than fifty (50) interrogatories. The motion must set forth

those additional proposed interrogatories, and must explain their necessity. Full

compliance with Trial Rule 26(F) is required.

D. Interrogatory Answers and Objections. Answers or objections to

interrogatories under T.R. 31 or 33 must set forth in full the interrogatories being

answered or objected to immediately preceding the answer or objection.

E. Limit on Requests for Admission. Ordinarily, a party may not serve more than

30 requests for admission on another party (not counting requests that relate to

the authenticity of a document). A party wanting to serve more requestsmust

fully comply with Trial Rule 26(F), and file a motion setting forth the proposed

additional requests and reason why they are necessary.

F. Requests for Admissions Served on an Unrepresented Party. A party

desiring to deem as admitted Trial Rule 36 requests for admission propounded to

an unrepresented party must:

(1) serve the requests for admissions on the unrepresented party pursuant to the

manner of service set forth in Trial Rule 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, or 4.5;

(2) file proof of service;

(3) file a motion to Deem Facts Admitted; and,

(4) attach a copy of the request for admissions to the motion.

G. Time to Serve.

(1) General Discovery. All written discovery, whether directed to a party or

nonparty to an action, must be served at least thirty-three (33) days prior to

the expiration of any discovery deadline which is established by the Court.

Counsel may not serve discovery requests after this deadline unless they first

seek and obtain leave of Court to serve a belated request, and show good

cause for the request. In such event, the proposed belated discovery request

must be filed with the motion, and the opposing party must receive the

request with service of the motion. However, the opposing party need not

respond to the motion until the Court grants the motion.

(2) Requests for Admission. Requests for Admissions shall not be served earlier

than thirty (30) days after the responding party has answered or otherwise

responded to the Complaint. If no Answer or other responsive pleading has

been timely filed, Requests for Admission shall not be served until thirty (30)

days after the responsive pleading was due.

H. Discovery Disputes. The discovery process is intended to be largely self-

actuating, with minimal Court supervision.

(1) The Court will strictly enforce the informal resolution of discovery disputes in

accordance with Trial Rule 26(F). The Court may deny any discovery motion

filed pursuant to Trial Rule 27 through 37, if the party filing the motion has not

fully complied with the requirements of Trial Rule 26(F).

(2) Upon strict compliance with Trial Rule 26(F), the Court may compel or limit

discovery or enter any appropriate sanction, or may set the matter for

hearing.

(3) Strict compliance with Trial Rule 26(F) means a telephonic or face-to-face

meeting. Discovery dispute motions must include the date and time the

meeting took place.

(4) If counsel advises the Court, by way of motion or response thereto, that

opposing counsel has refused or delayed resolution of the discovery dispute,

the Court may, after hearing, impose appropriate sanctions, as permitted by

the Indiana Trial Rules.

(5) The Court may grant a motion to compel third-party discovery without a

hearing and without strict compliance with Trial Rule 26(F) upon good cause

shown.

I. Motion to Strike. A party who has been served with discovery may file a motion

to strike specific discovery requests as excessive, oppressive or repetitive, after

fully complying with Trial Rule 26(F). The motion shall typically be set for hearing

and does not serve to extend the time for answering interrogatories which are not

in dispute. The motion to strike must comply with Local Rule 9 regarding Motion

Practice.

Adopted as Discovery: Interrogatories, Requests for Admission, Time to Serve, effective

January 1, 2015. Amended in 2018, renumbered as Local Civil Rule LR02-TR33-24,

and effective December 1, 2018. Amended 2019, effective October 31, 2019.