(1) Number. Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court for good cause allowing a specific additional number of interrogatories, a party may serve on any other party no more than 40 written interrogatories, including all discrete subparts.
(2) Scope. An interrogatory may relate to any matter that may be inquired into under Rule 26(b). An interrogatory is not objectionable merely because it asks for an opinion or contention that relates to fact or the application of law to fact, but the court may order that the interrogatory need not be answered until designated discovery is complete, or until a pretrial conference or some other time.
(3) When may be served. Interrogatories may be served on the plaintiff after commencement of the suit and upon any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint.
(b) Answers and objections.
(1) Responding party. The interrogatories must be answered:
(A) by the party to whom they are directed; or
(B) if that party is a public or private corporation, a partnership, an association, or a governmental agency, by any officer or agent, who must furnish the information available to the party.
(2) Time to respond. The responding party must serve its answers and any objections within 30 days after being served with the interrogatories. A shorter or longer time may be stipulated to under Rule 29 or be ordered by the court.
(3) Answering each interrogatory. Each interrogatory must, to the extent it is not objected to, be answered separately and fully in writing under oath. The answers must first set forth each interrogatory asked, followed by the answer or objection.
(4) Objections. The grounds for objecting to an interrogatory must be stated with specificity. Any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the court, for good cause, excuses the failure.
(5) Signature. The person who makes the answers must sign them, and the attorney who objects must sign any objections.
(1) In general. An answer to an interrogatory may be used to the extent allowed by the Idaho Rules of Evidence.
(2) Use of interrogatories with the court. If interrogatories or answers to them are to be used at trial or in support or opposition to any motion, only the portion of the interrogatory or answer relied should be submitted to the court. Unless a genuine issue of authenticity is raised, a party may submit excerpts from copies of the original interrogatories or answers and is not required to submit the originals to the court.
(d) Option to produce business records. If the answer to an interrogatory may be determined by examining, auditing, compiling, abstracting, or summarizing a party's business records (including electronically stored information), and if the burden of deriving or ascertaining the answer will be substantially the same for either party, the responding party may answer by:
(1) specifying the records that must be reviewed, in sufficient detail to enable the interrogating party to locate and identify them as readily as the responding party could; and
(2) giving the interrogating party a reasonable opportunity to examine and audit the records and to make copies, compilations, abstracts, or summaries.
(e) Non-filing; Notice of serving.
(1) Non-filing. Neither the interrogatories nor the answers are to be filed with the court. The propounding party must maintain the original interrogatories and the original answers, along with the original proof of service for 1 year following the final disposition of the action and expiration of any period for appeal, unless the court orders that they be retained for a longer period.
(2) Notice of serving. The party serving interrogatories and answers to them must file with the court a notice of when and upon whom it was served.
(Adopted March 1, 2016, effective July 1, 2016.)
Interrogatories are written questions one party sends another, and Rule 33 sets the ground rules for them. A party gets no more than 40, counting every discrete subpart, unless the parties agree to more or the court allows additional questions for good cause. The questions can cover anything within the scope of discovery under Rule 26(b), including a party's opinions or contentions about how the law applies to the facts — the court can always delay answering those until later in the case if that makes more sense. Interrogatories go out to the plaintiff once the suit starts, and to any other party once served with the summons and complaint.
Whoever receives interrogatories has 30 days to respond, absent a different deadline by stipulation or court order. The corporation, agency, or other entity being asked has to designate an officer or agent who can supply the available information; the answers have to restate each question and answer it separately, fully, and under oath, and any objection has to spell out its grounds with enough specificity that a court could evaluate it — a vague or late objection is waived unless the court excuses it for good cause. The person answering signs the answers, and the objecting attorney signs the objections. Where the answer turns on digging through business records, and the burden of digging would fall equally on either party, the responding party can point to the records instead of writing out the answer, so long as it identifies them clearly enough for the other side to find what it needs and gives a real chance to inspect and copy them. Interrogatories and answers don't get filed with the court, but the propounding party has to keep the originals for a year after the case ends and file a notice of when and on whom they were served.