Rule 37.01.Motion for order compelling discovery.

Rule 37.01 spells out what happens when discovery breaks down. If a deposition witness won't answer a question, a party ignores interrogatories sent under Rule 33, a corporation won't name someone to testify on its behalf under Rule 30.02(6) or 31.01(2), or a party won't allow an inspection requested under Rule 34, the side seeking discovery can move for an order compelling it. The motion goes to the court where the case is pending, except that disputes tied to how a deposition is being conducted can go to the court in the county where the deposition is happening.

The rule treats a dodgy or incomplete answer the same as no answer at all, so a witness cannot satisfy the rule by talking around a question instead of answering it. During an oral deposition, the questioner does not have to finish or interrupt the examination before moving to compel — the rule lets the proponent complete or adjourn the deposition first. If the court grants the motion, it must, after a hearing, make the losing side pay the reasonable expenses — including attorney's fees — the moving party spent getting the order, unless the opposition was substantially justified or an award would be unjust. The same expense-shifting runs the other way if the motion is denied, and the court can split the expenses when the motion succeeds on some points and fails on others. That two-way exposure to fees gives both sides a reason to work out discovery disputes before asking a judge to referee them.