Interrogatories to Parties

(a) Availability; Answers; Objections. Any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation or a partnership, governmental entity, or unincorporated association, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is available to the party. Interrogatories may be served after commencement of the action and without leave of court, except that, if service is made by the plaintiff within sixty (60) days after service of process upon the defendant, leave of court granted with or without notice must be first obtained. Each interrogatory shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath. If the interrogatory is objected to, the reasons for the objection shall be stated. Each answer shall be preceded by the interrogatory to which it responds. The answers shall be signed by the person making them; and the party upon whom the interrogatories have been served shall serve a copy of the answers and objections on the party submitting the interrogatories within forty (40) days after the service of the interrogatories, unless the court on motion and notice and for good cause shown, enlarges, or shortens the time. With the party's answers a party may serve specific written objections to particular interrogatories, stating the grounds on which the objections are based. The party shall answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable. Failure to serve such objections within the time prescribed shall constitute a waiver thereof. Answers to interrogatories to which objection is made may be deferred until an order to answer is entered in accordance with Rule 37(a) upon motion of the interrogating party. (b) Scope; Limitations. Interrogatories may relate to any matters which can be inquired into under Rule 26(b), and the answers may be used to the extent permitted Page 53 of 101 February 2024 by the Rhode Island Rules of Evidence. Interrogatories may be served before or after a deposition has been taken, and a deposition may be sought before or after interrogatories have been answered, but the court on motion of the deponent or the party interrogated, may make such protective order as justice may require. A party may serve more than one (1) set of interrogatories upon another party provided the total number of interrogatories shall not exceed thirty (30) unless the court otherwise orders for good cause shown. The provisions of Rule 26(c) are applicable for the protection of the party from whom answers to interrogatories are sought under this rule. An interrogatory is not objectionable merely because it calls for an answer which involves an opinion or contention that relates to fact, or to the application of law to fact, but the court may order that such an interrogatory need not be answered until after other designated discovery has been completed or at some other later time. (c) Continuing Duty to Answer. If the party furnishing answers to interrogatories shall subsequently obtain information which renders such answers incomplete or incorrect, amended answers shall be served within a reasonable time thereafter but not later than thirty (30) days prior to the day fixed for trial. Thereafter amendments may be allowed only on motion and upon such terms as the court may direct. (d) Option to Produce Business Records. If the answer to an interrogatory may be derived or ascertained from the business records (including electronically stored information) of the party upon whom the interrogatory has been served or from an examination, audit or inspection of such business records, including a compilation, abstract or summary thereof, and the burden of deriving or ascertaining the answer is substantially the same for the party serving the interrogatory as for the party served, it is a sufficient answer to such interrogatory to specify the records from which the answer may be derived or ascertained and to afford to the party serving the interrogatory reasonable opportunity to examine, audit or inspect such records and to make copies, compilations, abstracts or summaries. A specification shall be in sufficient detail to permit the interrogating party to locate and identify, as readily as can the party served, the records from which the answer may be ascertained. 34. Production of Documents, Electronically Stored Information, and Things; Entry Upon Land for Inspection for Other Purposes. — (a) Scope. Any party may serve on any other party a request within the scope of Rule 26(b): Page 54 of 101 February 2024 (1) To produce and permit the party making the request, or someone acting on the party's behalf, to inspect, copy, test, or sample the following items in the responding party's possession, custody or control: (A) Any designated documents or electronically stored information (including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, images, and other data or data compilations) stored in any medium from which information can be obtained either directly or, if necessary, after translation, by the responding party into a reasonably usable form or format; or (B) Any designated tangible thing. (2) To permit entry upon designated land or other property possessed or controlled by the responding party, so that the requesting party may inspect, measure, survey, photograph, test, or sample the property or any designated object or operation thereon. (b) Procedure. (1) The request may, without leave of court, be served upon the plaintiff after commencement of the action and upon any other party with or after service of the summons, complaint, Language Assistance Notice, and all other required documents upon that party. The request shall set forth the items to be inspected, copied, tested, or sampled either by individual item or by category, and describe each item and category with reasonable particularity. A party requesting production of electronically stored information may specify the format in which each type of electronically stored information is to be produced. The request shall specify a reasonable time, place, and manner of making the inspection, copy, test, or sample. (2) The party upon whom the request is served shall serve a written response within forty (40) days after the service of the request, except that a defendant may serve a response within sixty (60) days after service of the summons, complaint, Language Assistance Notice, and all other required documents upon that defendant. The court may allow a shorter or longer time. The response shall state, with respect to each item or category, that inspection, copying, testing, or sampling will be permitted as requested, unless the request is objected to, in which event the reasons for objection shall be stated. If objection is made to part of an item or category, the part shall be specified and inspection, copying, testing, or sampling permitted of the remaining parts. Any response to a request for production of any electronically stored information shall also state, with respect to each item or category in the request: (A) That inspection, copying, testing, or sampling of the information will be permitted as requested; or Page 55 of 101 February 2024 (B) Any objection to the request and the reasons for the objection. (3) A party who produces documents shall produce them as they are kept in the usual course of business or shall organize and label them to correspond with the categories in the request. (4) If a party responding to a request for production of electronically stored information objects to a specified format for producing the information, or if a format is not specified in the request, the responding party shall state in the response the format for production of each type of electronically stored information. Unless the parties otherwise agree or the court otherwise orders: (A) If a request for production does not specify a format for producing a type of electronically stored information, the responding party shall produce the information in a format in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a format that is reasonably usable; and (B) A party need not produce the same electronically stored information in more than one format. (5) The party submitting the request may move for an order under Rule 37(a) with respect to any objection to or other failure to respond to the request or any part thereof, or any failure to permit inspection, copying, testing, or sampling as requested. (c) Persons Not Parties. A person not a party to the action may be compelled to produce documents and things or to submit to an inspection as provided in Rule 45.