§ 2030.280.280

Written interrogatories and their responses generate paperwork that has no business cluttering a court file, and this section keeps them out of it. Neither the interrogatories themselves nor the responses to them are filed with the court, a rule consistent with how California treats most discovery exchanged directly between parties: the court gets involved only when a dispute over that discovery calls for a ruling.

Instead of court filing, the statute imposes a retention duty on the propounding party. That party has to keep the original set of interrogatories, with the original proof of service attached, along with the original sworn response, for six months after the action reaches its final disposition. Once that six-month window closes, both originals may be destroyed, unless a court, on a motion by any party and for good cause shown, orders that they be preserved longer, a safeguard for situations where the interrogatories or responses might still matter after the case ends, in a related proceeding, an appeal, or a later dispute over what was disclosed.