Rule 36.Requests for admission

A request for admission works differently from other discovery devices: it is aimed at narrowing what remains disputed rather than gathering new information. Rule 36(a) lets a party ask another party to admit the truth of any matter within the scope of Rule 26(b) that relates to statements or opinions of fact, or to the application of law to fact, including whether a particular document is genuine. Copies of any documents at issue must be served with the request unless they have already been furnished or made available for inspection. As with interrogatories and document requests, a request for admission can reach the plaintiff once the defendant is served with the summons and complaint, or the complaint is filed, and any other party with or after service of the summons and complaint. Rule 36(a) also requires that requests for admission stand on their own -- they cannot be combined in the same document with any other form of discovery.

The deadline is what gives Rule 36 its force. Each matter is deemed admitted unless, within 30 days after service, or a shorter or longer period the court allows, the party asked to respond serves a written answer or objection -- though a defendant does not have to respond before 40 days have passed since service of the summons and complaint. An answer must specifically deny the matter or explain in detail why the party can neither admit nor deny it; a denial must squarely meet the substance of what was asked, and where good faith allows only a partial admission, the party has to specify what is true and qualify or deny the rest. A party cannot cite lack of information or knowledge as a reason for not answering unless it states that it made reasonable inquiry and that the information reasonably available is still not enough to admit or deny. And a party cannot object to a request solely on the ground that the matter presents a genuine issue for trial or a central disputed fact -- the proper response in that situation is a denial or a detailed explanation, not an objection.

Rule 36(a) also gives the requesting party a way to test a response it finds inadequate: a motion asking the court to determine the sufficiency of an answer or objection. Unless the court finds the objection justified, it orders that an answer be served; if an answer does not meet the rule's requirements, the court can order the matter admitted outright or require an amended answer, or defer final resolution to a pretrial conference or another specified point before trial. Rule 37(a)(4)'s expense-shifting provisions apply to that motion.

Rule 36(b) makes an admission conclusively established for the pending action unless the court permits its withdrawal or amendment. Following the same standard that governs amending a pretrial order under Rule 16, the court allows withdrawal or amendment only where doing so serves the presentation of the case on the merits, and the party who obtained the admission cannot show that the change would prejudice its ability to maintain a claim or defense. An admission made under this rule stays confined to the action in which it was made -- it is not an admission for any other purpose and cannot be used against the party in any other proceeding.