Also known as: request to admit · request for admission · requests for admission · request for admissions · requests for admissions · RFA · RFAs
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A discovery device by which one party serves written requests on another to admit the truth of specified matters within the scope of discovery for purposes of the pending action only. The device reaches facts, the application of law to fact, opinions about either, and the genuineness of described documents.
Riley Rivera served requests for admission on Rising Sun Electronics asking the company to admit the genuineness of ten internal emails. The requests listed each email by date and sender but did not attach copies or confirm prior production. Rising Sun moved for a protective order. The court sustained the objection because the rule requires that a request to admit genuineness be accompanied by the document unless it has already been furnished.
Regina Robinson sued a pharmaceutical company after an adverse reaction during a clinical trial. She served requests asking the company to admit that certain monitoring reports accurately recorded the events and that, in its internal assessment, the events were related to the study drug. The company objected that the requests sought improper opinions on causation. The court overruled the objection because requests for admission properly reach opinions about the application of law to fact.
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Rajesh Rao sued a real-estate firm over a failed transaction. He served requests asking the firm to admit the genuineness of specified email chains and inspection reports. The firm objected that authenticity questions must await trial. The court overruled the objection because requests for admission may properly target the genuineness of described documents before trial.
Yes. The rule expressly permits requests that address facts, the application of law to fact, and opinions about either. A party cannot refuse to answer merely because a request calls for an evaluative judgment tied to the facts of the case.
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Yes. The rule authorizes requests to admit the genuineness of described documents. A copy must be attached or the document must already have been made available, but the device itself is designed for this use.
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Yes. A party that has responded to a request for admission must supplement or correct the response if it later learns the information is materially incomplete or incorrect and the new information has not otherwise been made known to the opposing party.
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…as oral deposition by telephone (Rule 30(b)(7)), deposition upon written questions (Rule 31), interrogatories (Rule 33), and requests for admission (Rule 36), while enjoying protection from harassment (Rule 26(c)), and possibly obtaining costs and attorney's fees for some of the work involved (Rules 37(a)(4), (b)-(d)). Moreover, a…