procedural guides

Response to Interrogatories in Georgia Superior Court – At A Glance

Use this At A Glance Guide to learn the Georgia Code related to propounding interrogatories in Georgia Superior Court. For more detailed information, please see the SmartRules Response to Interrogatory Guide for the court where your action is pending.

A party responding to interrogatories should answer each interrogatory separately and fully, in writing and under oath. In the alternative, a party may object to an interrogatory, stating the reasons for objecting instead answering. O.C.G.A. 9-11-33(a)(2).

An evasive or incomplete response to an interrogatory will be treated as a failure to answer. O.C.G.A. 9-11-37(a)(3).

Unless otherwise ordered by the court, there is no limit to the use of written interrogatories. O.C.G.A. 9-11-26(a).

No party may serve more than fifty (50) interrogatories, including subparts, on any other party during the course of discovery without permission of the court. Such permission may be granted based on a showing that the litigation is complex or that the party seeking to serve the interrogatories would endure undue hardship if not allowed to serve the additional interrogatories. O.C.G.A. 9-11-33(a).

An interrogatory is permissible even if the information sought would be inadmissible at trial, as long as the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence. O.C.G.A. 9-11-26(b)(1). Similarly, an interrogatory is permissible even though the answer would involve an opinion or contention that relates to fact or to the application of law to fact, although the court may order that such an interrogatory need not be answered until designated discovery has been completed, a pre-trial conference has been held, or such other later time as the court may decide. O.C.G.A. 9-11-33(b)(2).

A party may discover the existence and contents of any insurance agreement under which any person providing insurance might be required to satisfy all or part of any judgment entered in the action or to indemnify or reimburse for payment of such judgment. O.C.G.A. 9-11-26(b)(2).

The answers to interrogatories generally may be used at trial to the extent that they qualify as admissions under the rules of evidence. O.C.G.A. 9-11-33.

On a showing of good cause, where justice requires the trial court to take action to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden or expense, the trial court has discretion to enter a protective order preventing certain discovery or restricting the terms on which certain discovery may be obtained. O.C.G.A. 9-11-26(c).

The authorities cited in this At A Glance Guide are current as of the publication date. For authorities updated in real time, please see the SmartRules Guide for the litigation document you are drafting.