Under Supreme Court Rule 213(j), the Supreme Court may approve standard forms for interrogatories.

Missouri’s new discovery rules are now limited in scope to discovery that is “proportional to the needs of the case.” Courts will now look at the “totality of the circumstances,” which includes but is not limited to: whether the burden or expenses of the proposed discovery outweighs its likely benefit.

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Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, any party may serve upon any other party no more than 25 written interrogatories, including all discrete subparts. Interrogatories may relate to any matter that can be inquired into under Rule 56.01.

What does the new rule do? Missouri’s new discovery rule allows an attorney to object to the scope and magnitude of discovery in the form of the length and scope of the questions asked or the documents sought.

You can object to an interrogatory if the information sought is known by the requesting party or available to both parties equally. For example, you should raise this objection if the answers are publicly available or in a third-party’s custody or control.

Issue: Under Missouri law, may a plaintiff seek discovery regarding affirmative defenses pled by a defendant? “Missouri discovery rules allow so-called ‘contention interrogatories,’ which allow a party to discover the factual theory of the adversary’s case.

Unless otherwise stipulated or ordered by the court, a party may serve on any other party no more than 25 written interrogatories, including all discrete subparts. Leave to serve additional interrogatories may be granted to the extent consistent with Rule 26(b)(1) and (2).

Does it require the client’s verification of her answers to interrogatories be notarized? If properly notarized, this is likely simplest, safest way to satisfy the rule. Federal case law indicates even if the answers are signed by the party, the answers are ineffective if they were not signed “under oath.”

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.

A notary public is allowed to charge fees for notarizing documents. Section 486.350, RSMo, allows a notary to charge two dollars for each signature on a document and the proper recording of the notarization in their journal.

All commissions as a notary public are issued for a term of four years. There are no provisions in the law for renewals. If the notary wishes to again become commissioned as a notary public they will need to submit a notary re-application to our office no earlier than one month before their current expiration date.

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