Plaintiff's interrogatories and request for production of documents

[HelpingHands]

This is going to be long. Va case. Mother filed to term father's rights, father filed show causes,mother dropped case, father filed to amend custody. GAL recomemnded custody reversal to Father, Father resides in TN. with child.  Mother found guilty of contempt. Mother is now represented by counsel, Father is currently unrepresented. Mother filed appeal. Hearing set for Nov 20. The following was recieved today, postmarked 16th.

1. Describe in detail your current residence, providing in your description the size of the home, number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, lot size and whether you rent or own your home.

2. Identify any and all persons who reside with you in your home, including in your description each such person's full name, age and realtionship to you.

3. Describe in detail and all changes in circumstances occuring since entry of the consent order on August 25, 2005, that support your request that (child) be in your primary custody.

4. If you contend that (her client) is not a proper custodian for (child), describe in detail each and every fact supporting that contention.

5. Identify each person who has any knowledge of the matters disclosed in your answer to Interog #4 above , providing for each his or her full name, address, telephone nymber and summary of the matters about which he or she has knowledge.

6. If you ever pleaded guilty or no contest to, or been convicted of, a felony or a crime involving moral turpitude (for example, lying, cheating, stealing, bad checks, etcetera) describe said felony or crime in detail , including the charge(s) and the date(s) of the offense.

7. For all insurance policies owned by you or in which you have an interest, provide the following information:
name and addy of insu co
type of policy(med, life, whole, term, universal,)
insured
policy number
current balance of any loan against policy
face value
beneficiary
present cash value


8. Identify and describe each employment position you have held during the past 3 years, including, but not limited to, a complete descripton of your employer's name and address, your position, the dates of service, your annual salary, the number of hours worked, any bonuses, commissions or other compensation recieved, any fringe benefits/perquitsites recieved, including but not limited to, insurance coverage, retirement or profit sharing, travel pay, vacation and sick leave accrued and if your current employer utilizes a stndard promotion or salary review schedule, state the approximate dates of your future promotion or reviews and the increwments in salary antipatedd on those dates.



9. Describe in detail all fringe benefits (not previously described to Inter 8 above) available to you through your employment(such as automobile expense, credit cards, medical insurance or reimbursement, life insurance, expense acct, stock option, bonuses, etc.

10. Identify fully all sources of income(excluding employment listed in response to Inter #8 above) (taxable and non taxable) received during the last 3 years up to your response to the interogatory, including but not limited to, royalties, dividends, rent, pension, social security, disability, interests, trusts, investments, inheritents, and the like. Include in your response the sourse of the income, the frequency and the amount of the payments, the date of the payments commenced and teminated, if appropraite, and the total amount of payments received in each of the previous (3 )years

11 Identify each and every location wher eyou have resided since the birth of your daughter (child's name) providing the full address and dates of residency for each such location.

12 Identify the name of any expert you expect to call to testify as an expert witness at any hearing or trial in this matter, the subject matter on which the expert is expected to testify, and the substance of the facts and opinions to which the expert is expected to testofy as well as a summary of the grounds for each opinion.

13 Identify the counselor from whom (child's name) is currently receiving counseling,providing that person's full name, address, telephone number and the date that (child name) began such counseling.


Pursuant to supreme court of VA it says we have to submit the following within 21 days:

1. Copies of individual federal and state income tax returns with all schedules and attachments for the years 2004 to present.

2 Copies of your W-2 forms and 1099 forms received from all income for the years 2004 to the present.

3. Copies of your 3 most present pay stubs or equivalent.

4. Copies of all federal and state income tax returns with all schedules and attachments filed on behalf of any busness entity in which you have an ownership interest for years 2004 to present.

5 Copies of all bank statements, savings and loan statements, money market acct statements, and other statements issued by financial inst. reflecting fiancnial transactions in accts bearing your name either soley or jointly with others for borth personal and business use from Jan 1, 2006 to the present.

6. Copies of any medical, dental and life insurance policies insuring you and/or (child) or in which you have any interest.

7 A copy of the medical insurance card for(child).

8. A copy of the resume for any expert you intend to call as a witness at any proceeding in this matter.

9 The following documents relating to any real property currently owned by you individually or jointly with any other persons or entities:
deeds
deeds of trust or mortgages:
promisary notes an
settlement statements

10 Copies of any leases on which you are any way liable, whether in your name individually or jointly with any other person

11. Copies of any reports or writings produed by persons you expect to call as experts in this case.

12 Copies of all medical records of any type for any treatment you have recieved since Jan 1, 2005

13  Copies of all  medical and mental health records of any type for any treatment that (child) has recieved while in your care since Jan 1, 2005.

14. A copy of any credit report for you obtained or requested since jan 1, 2005.

15. A copy of (child's) report card, as well as any other reports or correspondence related to (child) recieved from school.

16. A copy of the 06-07 school calendar for the school (child) is currently attending.

17 Copies of any and all documentation of any child care expenses incurred for (child)

18 Copies of any and all documentation reflecting the current cost for medical insurance for (child).

19 Copies of your telephone records(land and mobile lines) for the time period Aug 2005- present.



*****
1. What happens If I can not provide all the requested information within the 21 day limit?

2. Is it legal to ask for this information?

3. Personal information, such as my bank account numbers, social security numbers for family members on tax returns, etc- can I black those out for security purposes? The mother has been known to steal and associate with criminals who have been incarcerated for identity theft and bad checks, etc and I do not want my or my children/wife's information to become a public free for all.

4. Can I send my own interrogatorry and ask for the same and other information, such as specific records such as social security(to prove her brain injury is what qualifies her for the ssd) or court records where her mother was granted guardianship over her because of her inability to care for herself(brain injury)?
 
4a if so, how do you word that?

5. I have a phone consult scheduled with an atty, but it's not until the time limit expires, what can I do in the meantime- without royally screwing up the case?

6. The times and dates listed on the interogatorry- are those limited by law or is her attorney specifically looking for something and limiting it to those dates?

7. If I don't know the answers, can I answer I do not have the answer for that question or unknown, not at this time, etc?  

8. Can I legally ask for her to answer questions about prior marriages- to whom(name), date of marriage, place of, date of divorce, name of current spouse or significant other(want her to state on record she is either fiance' of the drughead or lie and say she isn't with him).

9. At what point in the interogatorry can I refuse to answer and write that  this is irrelevant or is that not allowed?

10. Is there anywhere on the web that I can find information about this process, so that I can do some research done?
 
Thank you for your help. I don't want to lose my daughter because of  technicalities.

[socrateaser]

>1. What happens If I can not provide all the requested
>information within the 21 day limit?

Nothing, unless your opponent files a motion to compel and for sanctions. Assuming this occurs, then you could be fined for not responding.

However, you don't have to produce what you don't have reasonable control over. For example, if you no longer have a copy of a past tax return, just tell them, and offer to sign a form that will permit them to obtain the document direct from the IRS. Naturally, there will be a filing cost associated with this (and your objective is to create all sorts of costs for your opponent that he/she can't bill you back for).

Same goes for things like bank statements, checks, etc. If you have them, you must produce them, but if you don't, and it costs money to get the copies (and it does), you can offer to get copies of the documents, if they will bear one half of the reasonable cost of their production.

And, if it's a document that you do not believe is relevant to the case (such as life insurance policy info, which has no bearing on child support or custody issues, you can answer that interrogatory by stating that the documents are "Irrelevant, immaterial and not reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence." (magic words -- do not modify).

Furthermore, if documents that your opponent wishes to obtain are voluminous, such as you have 10 credit cards and no statements and the cost of producing the statements would run to $500+ in bank fees, you can object by stating: "Objection, the request is broad, overreaching and unduly burdensome to comply with because of the voluminous quantity of records sought, which are no longer within my possession or control."

Then they will need to ask the court to force you to produce, at which time you can ask the court to narrow the scope of discovery to a reasonable requirement (which will require a telephone hearing and that will cost money).

>
>2. Is it legal to ask for this information?

Depends on specific facts and circumstances and what matters are actually at issue. Some yes, some maybe. For example, if only custody issues are currently being pled before the court, then support issues/money is irrelevant, and none of it should be discoverable until someone raises the support issue. Ultimately, support is always at issue if custody is modified, but until it's actually pled, by a party, it's not at issue and not discoverable. And visa versa, if only support issues are being pled.

>
>3. Personal information, such as my bank account numbers,
>social security numbers for family members on tax returns,
>etc- can I black those out for security purposes? The mother
>has been known to steal and associate with criminals who have
>been incarcerated for identity theft and bad checks, etc and I
>do not want my or my children/wife's information to become a
>public free for all.

You can't black out anything relevant. If you are concerned about this, I suggest that you contact opposing counsel and ask if blacking out certain identifying info will be acceptable to them or not. If not, then you can take a chance and black out the info, and wait for the other side to ask the court to compel production, or you can file a motion "in limine" to try to get the court to exclude certain info in advance.

The court will allow you keep your SS$ out of evidence (federal law preemption of state law), except where the number is relevant to a specific issue. The bank account #s, however, are not privileged.

However, the account numbers may not be relevant. The problem is that you cannot object to relevance issues on an interrogatory. You must wait for the other party to try to admit the evidence, and then seek to exclude it as irrelevant at the hearing.

>4. Can I send my own interrogatorry and ask for the same and
>other information, such as specific records such as social
>security(to prove her brain injury is what qualifies her for
>the ssd) or court records where her mother was granted
>guardianship over her because of her inability to care for
>herself(brain injury)?

You are entitled to obtain any info that is "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence," which is not "broad, overreaching and unduly burdensome to comply with," and which does not violate a privilege of the other party (attorney-client/confidentiality, work product, physician-patient, priest-penatent, marital communication, spousal privilege).

In plain english, this means that even if the question you ask is not directly relevant to something you're trying to prove, if the answer will reasonably help you figure out the correct question to ask, then you can ask and your opponent must answer.

The problem with interrogatories is that the attorney usually does the answering and the client only signs on to approve. So, interrogatories are best put to discovering statistical questions which cannot easily be evaded (e.g., account numbers, names of persons, addresses, phone numbers, employers, witness lists, etc.).

Questions like "why do you think you should be entitled to custody," are stupid, becaused the answer can be as simple as, "Because I believe I'm the better day to day parent."

Total waste of time. So, don't sucker into giving long answers to these sorts of questions. They're trying to trip you up.
 
>4a if so, how do you word that?

You have just reached the limits of my charitable nature. Please insert your credit card into the slot, because my $400 per hour meter has just started running.

>5. I have a phone consult scheduled with an atty, but it's not
>until the time limit expires, what can I do in the meantime-
>without royally screwing up the case?

Contact the opposing counsel and ask if you can lenghthen the time to answer. If not, then you answer the statistical questions, and you avoid the others by answering in as conclusory a fashion as possible.

You can also say that "I don't remember," if you don't remember the answer to a certain question and you have no reasonble means of refreshing your recollection.

>
>6. The times and dates listed on the interogatorry- are those
>limited by law or is her attorney specifically looking for
>something and limiting it to those dates?

I'm not a mind reader. I have no idea what opposing counsel may  be looking for. If the dates appear to be unreasonable considering the issues, you can say: "I object to the question as too broad, overreaching and unduly burdensome for me to reasonably comply. However for the dates from X to Y, ______ (fill in the blank with what's reasonable under the circumstances).

>
>7. If I don't know the answers, can I answer I do not have the
>answer for that question or unknown, not at this time, etc?  

You must make a diligent attempt to answer every question. If you don't know the answer and you have no reasonable means of ascertaining it, then you can state that: "I don't remember, and I have no reasonable means of refreshing my recollection."

>
>8. Can I legally ask for her to answer questions about prior
>marriages- to whom(name), date of marriage, place of, date of
>divorce, name of current spouse or significant other(want her
>to state on record she is either fiance' of the drughead or
>lie and say she isn't with him).

If this is "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence," then you can ask. Otherwise, you can't.

In practice, almost everything is reasaonbly calculated at some level. But, if you ask someone whether they enjoy skiing more than surfing, at a custody hearing, you need to have a good reason, because such a question is not obviously "reasonably calculated" to lead to discovery of anything relevant.

>
>9. At what point in the interogatorry can I refuse to answer
>and write that  this is irrelevant or is that not allowed?

The question must be "reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery" of some other evidence that will be "admissible" at trial. This is a very difficult thing for a layperson to kinow, because you have no experience. That's why you hire a lawyer.

>10. Is there anywhere on the web that I can find information
>about this process, so that I can do some research done?

I don't know anything about this website, other than what occurs on my board. Sorry.

[HelpingHands]

Thank you so much for being so kind and generous for answering these questions during your vacation :) It means the world to my family!!

To clarify about the child support/ financial :A child support hearing has  already been scheduled for Dec 6 in Tn. That letter addressing that hearing was dated September 22, 2006.

The mother filed papers to give Tennessee jurisdiction in August 2005. In July 2006 a Modifcation and registration of a foriegn document was registered in Tn. (by her)

The Virginia courts dimissmed her petition for child support/ medical support contempt in May 2006- because it was never brought to Virginia courts. The Va court reiterated that finding during the Aug 2006 custody hearing(the Gal brought up support for the child for the custody transfer) that they do NOT have jurisdiction over the child support/medical case as it originally was a WV case(since 1999) and was never properly brought to the VA courts. (she never filed to have the Va courts recognize the foreign support/medical order)


Updated: Here's the paperwork received re the pretrial order re custody order snuck in during the setting of the appeals case:

Pretrial Order-child support

This case comes before the Court on Oct 13, 206, XXX Esq for the plaintiff(mother), the Defendant appeared in person without counsel; and XXX, ESQ, the GAL also appeared. It appears that the contested issues are: child custody, support and visitation.

Upon consideration whereof, it is ADJUDGED and ORDERED that:

1. This case is set for trial on November 20, 2006 at xxxx

2 The parties shall not less than ten days before the trail date exchange with each other, and file with the court:
(a) Itemized affidavits of assets and liabilites and monthly income and expense(forms are available from the clerk.)
(b)Statements from employer of current periodic earnings and payroll deductions and most recent tax return.
(c) List of witnesses and all exhibits.
(d) Child support guideline calculation- DC FOM 637 (lawyers only)

3. On or before November 3, 2006, XXX GAL who will investigate and report to the Court in writing with copies to counsel for the parties as to each factor set forth in Va code 20-124.3 along with a specific recommendation as to the custody and visitation of the children. On before November 10, 2006 the Parties shall file such response to the GAL's report as deemed advisable. The ultimate amount of the GAL/s fee and appointment of the costs of the GAL between the parties will be determined by the court by later order. Generally, the GALs rate of compensation is $125.00 per hour, which may be discounted by the court for good cause.

4. In all cases in which child support is an issue and in which a party is claiming that the statutory guidelines of Va Code 20-108.1 should not be followed, Findings of Fact as to why the application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropraite with specific reference to the pertinent statuatory factors set forth in Va. Code 20.108.1

The clerk shall forward copies of this order to the parties, who shall file such objections hereto as they deem advisable within ten days of their receipt of a copy of this order. Endorsement is dispensed with.

Signed by judge.