I'm being sued and I got a request to send information to the plaintiff's lawyer. Can I not respond?

Question

I recieved a packet in the mail today from the plaintiff's attorney containing an Interrogatory questionaire, and letters saying "The plaintiff, _______, request that you send the following documents to her attorney's law offices." No where on here does it say it is required by the court. They want things I am not comfortable sharing with them like a copy of my driver's licence, my past moving violations, and my cell phone bill with a copy of all the calls made on the day of the auto accident. They also want me to send them a letter which states that I admit to all the things that happened...this sounds like a trap...

-If it is my choice I will not send them anything, but will I be in trouble if I don't?

-And if I won't be in trouble and I choose to not send them any information, should I send them a note denying their request?

Answer 1

YES, YOU NEED TO DO TWO THINGS HERE!!!

1) You need an attorney, fast...if you do not give them the information necessary and it goes to court with THEIR word, they will win by default because you didn't comply. Their will be a court date set and if you don't show up prepared they will win.

2) You will need to give this information that they are asking to your attorney and in turn your attorney will give them the information they need. This is called the discovery process.

Do not ignore your situation. Its only going to get worse.

If you don't defend yourself they can win thousands of dollars and you will be screwed.

Answer 2

If you don't respond you automatically lose.

Answer 3

if they want something from you that will be damaging to you make them subpoena it

you have no obligation to assist someone in suing you

let a judge decide whether or not you have to share it, which is what a subpoena does...

Answer 4

You should ask your lawyer.  And if you don't have one you should definitely get one.

Answer 5

The only letter from the plaintiffs attorney that you should get is a letter requiring you to state what your intentions are in the matter, and also send a copy to the court. This is a legal requirement so make sure you do this. Usually it has a time limit of 20 days. The other stuff he wants is not required to the best of my knowledge. You really do need an attorney.

Answer 6

Don't send them anything. Don't admit to anything. Don't sign anything. Only a Court may request this information in which case you may need to respond. Consult an attorney under these circumstances. Sometimes people like this will send you papers that look like official documents but they are not. Be very cautious of anything that they send you. Refuse any registered or certified mail sent to you by these people. Good Luck  Bob Post Script Do not discuss this situation with anyone that in any way may be related to these people.

Answer 7

DONT DO IT

it sounds like they settin u up

but ask your lawyer if u got 1

oh and dont send them a note denying... maybe that will throw them off somehow...

Answer 8

Ignore the packet. They can't prove you received it.

Meanwhile, you should contact a lawyer.

You are very wise for not just handing over personal information.

Answer 9

I believe requests for information you have to respond to but DON'T SIGN ANYTHING!!!!  talk to a lawyer or get yourself one.  

Answer 10

Don't send that Lawyer any information, because it can be used against you as they twist it around.    Get your own Lawyer.    Any Lawyer who is suing you, should not be helped by you.    Nope don't sent him/her anything.  BUT respond with your own Lawyer.  If you don't , you will automatically be found Guilty.     Yes, it is a trap.    Get a Lawyer.  

Answer 11

ok first off, i would say this.. if you do not respond to the ROGS, then you cannot argue against them.  you must respond.

i would also suggest gettin a book called the Rules of Civil Procedure. this will tell how many of the questions you must answer. lawyers are tricky, if they think they can get you to they will ask more questions then allowed by law.. where i live you cant ask more than 25, and that includes subparts to a question.

there are also priviledges that can be claimed, to rpevent you from responding, suck as DR patient, or husband / wife, these are also in the RULES OF CIVIL PROCEDURE for your state.

you can also get these online.

i would never sign a confession of anything that is like admitting you did something that your are trying to fight in court. i wold not answer that questiona and let them take in front of judge.

Answer 12

You are required to answer Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents. If you have not yet filed an Answer (with the court clerk), you should do so or the plaintiff may get a default judgment against you. Generally, you have 20-30 days to respond to a Complaint. All an Answer is is you "admitting" or "denying" the allegations in the Complaint. I wouldnt recommend sending any letters to the plaintiff's atty admitting any fault. If you do enter any arrangements w/ the plaintiff or their atty, you need to get it in writing and also file that with the court clerk.  

Answer 13

If you don't respond, they will ask the judge to order you to respond.  They can ask you anything that might lead to evidence in the case.

Yes, it is a trap because you don't know what you are doing.  Get a lawyer that does.

EDIT - Please don't follow the advice of people who tell you to ignore this.  It is called "discovery", they have every right to ask you, and you will make things 100% worse if you ignore it.