FRCP/Discovery

Rule 36: Requests for Admission

Quick Answer

What is Requests for Admission?

Requests for admission are unique among discovery tools because their purpose is not to discover new information but to narrow the issues for trial. By asking the other side to admit certain facts, you can eliminate the need to prove those facts at trial, saving time and resources.

Source: Fed. R. Civ. P. 36

Plain English Explanation

The responding party must either admit, deny, or explain why they cannot truthfully admit or deny. A response saying 'denied' must be made in good faith. If the responder fails to respond within 30 days, the matter is deemed admitted by default — this is one of the most dangerous traps in federal discovery. A deemed admission is conclusive and extremely difficult to undo.

The stakes are high: if a party denies a request and the requesting party later proves the matter at trial, the requesting party can recover the reasonable costs of proving it, including attorney's fees. The court must award these costs unless the denial was reasonable, the matter was genuinely in dispute, or there was other good reason for the denial.

Key Points

1Purpose is to narrow trial issues, not to discover new information
2Failure to respond within 30 days results in the matter being deemed admitted
3Admitted matters are conclusively established for the pending action
4The court may permit withdrawal of an admission if it promotes truth-finding and does not prejudice the requesting party
5Costs of proving a matter that should have been admitted may be recovered under Rule 37(c)(2)

Common Exam Issues

Deemed admissions from failure to respond within 30 days
The standard for withdrawing an admission under Rule 36(b)
Cost-shifting when a denied matter is later proved at trial
Whether the request asks for a pure legal conclusion (improper) vs. application of law to fact (proper)