interrogatories

[setmefree]

Dear Socrateaser:

We live in state of Virginia and going through a divorce.  
How may interrogatories questions and sub questions may be asked?  
How often can they ask for clarifications and additional information about the questions already answered?
How close to the trial date can her attorney keep posing questions and ask for clarifications?
As for the request for the production of documents, I am asked to produce documents that are not in my possession.  Am I obligated to spend time and money to produce them?

Thanks.

[socrateaser]

>Dear Socrateaser:
>
>We live in state of Virginia and going through a divorce.  
>How may interrogatories questions and sub questions may be
>asked?  

I don't know. This is generally an issue specific to state civil procedure and sometimes local court rules. You'll need to read the statutes/rules and you may need to visit a law library to find out something that specific, if it's not online anywhere. I don't have time to research this for you at the moment.

>How often can they ask for clarifications and additional
>information about the questions already answered?

Interrogatories are generally good for obtaining relatively noncontentious statistical info (e.g., contact info for witnesses, lists of names, or property, or bank accounts, etc.). If a question is adversarial or requires some follow up, then it's better to hold a depostion of the party, because generally an attorney will write out the answers to interrogatories and have the client verify and sign. Thus, most of the answers will reveal nothing more than the bare minimum.

Whereas, at a depo, you can ask probing a question and the witness must answer -- even if opposing counsel objects.

>How close to the trial date can her attorney keep posing
>questions and ask for clarifications?

Local procedural rule. I can't answer, but the deadline is generally agreed to in advance by counsel, i.e., "discovery will be completed no later than X days prior to trial."

>As for the request for the production of documents, I am asked
>to produce documents that are not in my possession.  Am I
>obligated to spend time and money to produce them?

You're asking a question in the abstract, and I can't answer it. If you want to know if a question is overbroad and/or unduly oppressive, and/or not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence, then you'll have to post it here.

Otherwise, the general answer is simply, is the request reasonable? If so, then you have to do it. If not, then refuse and explain why in good faith it's not reasonable.