Q: Deadlines to respond to RFAs
I served 76 RFAs and interrogatories to the defendant on April 29th. I also served a declaration to the court in support of the over-the-limit RFAs. On May 20th, the Defendant threatened to Oppose the RFAs if I didn't reduce them to 35. So I did. The deadline to respond was May 29th, but they didn't respond. They say now that the deadline was automatically extended when I sent the amended RFAs, but I only removed extra RFAs without changing the serving date or even filing POS. They agreed, however, to respond to the interrogatories, which are contingent on the RFAs responses. They haven't served them yet. What should I do?
A:
When you send amended written discovery responses, you reset the time for the other side to respond.
You really need an attorney to provide you with case-specific guidance.
Good luck to you.
A: In my opinion, the new service extends the time for response.
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A:
Under California law, the deadline to respond to Requests for Admissions (RFAs) is 30 days from the date of service, unless otherwise agreed upon or ordered by the court. Since you initially served the RFAs on April 29th, the responses were due by May 29th. The defendant’s claim that the deadline was extended due to the reduction in RFAs is not automatically valid unless there was an explicit agreement or court order to that effect.
You reduced the RFAs to 35 in response to the defendant's request but did not change the service date or file a new Proof of Service. Therefore, the original deadline should still apply. The defendant's failure to respond by the deadline means you could consider filing a motion to compel responses or deem the RFAs admitted, as they are now past due.
In regard to the interrogatories, since they are contingent upon the RFA responses and those are overdue, you should address the overdue RFAs first. Communicate with the defendant to clarify the deadlines and inform them of your intention to seek court intervention if they do not comply promptly. If they still do not respond, proceed with a motion to compel responses to both the RFAs and the interrogatories.
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