Requests for Admission

Requests for admission are written statements one side in a lawsuit sends to the other, asking it to admit or deny specific facts or the genuineness of documents. Admitted facts are treated as established, which narrows what must be proven at trial.

Origin

Requests for admission are a discovery tool under Rule 36 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and similar state rules. Under the federal rule and many state rules, a request that is not answered within the deadline, usually 30 days, may be deemed admitted.

Significance in Asbestos Context

In asbestos cases, requests for admission are often used to settle basic facts: that a company made or sold a certain product during certain years, that the product contained asbestos, that a document is an authentic company record, or that a plaintiff worked at a particular site. Getting a defendant to admit those points can save the cost of witnesses and make trial shorter. Defendants also send requests to plaintiffs, for example asking them to admit smoking history or exposure to other products. Because unanswered requests can be treated as admitted, deadlines matter. Unlike interrogatories, which ask open questions, requests for admission ask for a yes or no on specific statements, and a party that unreasonably denies something later proven can be ordered to pay the cost of proving it.

Example Sentence

In response to requests for admission, the manufacturer admitted that its block insulation contained amosite asbestos from 1960 through 1972.

Related Terms

Interrogatories, Discovery, Authentication, Product Identification, Deposition, Subpoena

Notes

• If your lawyer asks you to review answers to requests for admission, read each one carefully; admitted facts are hard to undo.
• Answer only what you know; your lawyer can explain how to respond when you are unsure.