§ 12-3233. Interrogatories to parties.

A.  AVAILABILITY; PROCEDURES FOR USE.  Any party may serve upon any other party written interrogatories to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or governmental agency, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is available to that party.  Interrogatories may, without leave of court, be served upon the plaintiff after commencement of the action or upon any other party with the summons and petition or after service of the summons and petition on that party.

Each interrogatory shall be answered separately and fully in writing under oath, unless it is objected to, in which event the objecting party shall state the reasons for objection and shall answer to the extent the interrogatory is not objectionable.  The number of interrogatories to a party shall not exceed thirty in number.  Interrogatories inquiring as to the names and locations of witnesses, or the existence, location and custodian of documents or physical evidence shall be construed as one interrogatory.  All other interrogatories, including subdivisions of one numbered interrogatory, shall be construed as separate interrogatories.  No further interrogatories will be served unless authorized by the court.  If counsel for a party believes that more than thirty interrogatories are necessary, he shall consult with opposing counsel promptly and attempt to reach a written stipulation as to a reasonable number of additional interrogatories.  Counsel are expected to comply with this requirement in good faith.  In the event a written stipulation cannot be agreed upon, the party seeking to submit such additional interrogatories shall file a motion with the court (1) showing that counsel have conferred in good faith but sincere attempts to resolve the issue have been unavailing, (2) showing reasons establishing good cause for their use, and (3) setting forth the proposed additional interrogatories.  The answers are to be signed by the person making them, and the objections signed by the attorney making them.  The party upon whom the interrogatories have been served shall serve a copy of the answers, and objections if any, within thirty (30) days after the service of the interrogatories, except that a defendant may serve answers or objections to interrogatories within forty-five (45) days after service of the summons and complaint upon that defendant.  A shorter or longer time may be directed by the court or, in the absence of such an order, agreed to in writing by the parties subject to Section 3229 of this title.  All grounds for an objection to an interrogatory shall be stated with specificity.  Any ground not stated in a timely objection is waived unless the party's failure to object is excused by the court for good cause shown.  The party submitting the interrogatories may move for an order under subsection A of Section 3237 of this title with respect to any objection to or other failure to answer an interrogatory.

B.  SCOPE; USE AT TRIAL.  Interrogatories may relate to any matters which can be inquired into under subsection B of Section 3226 of this title, and the answers may be used to the extent permitted by the Oklahoma Evidence Code as set forth in Sections 2101 et seq. of this title.

An interrogatory otherwise proper is not necessarily objectionable because an answer to the interrogatory involves an opinion or contention that relates to fact or the application of law to fact.  The court may order that such an interrogatory need not be answered until after designated discovery has been completed or until a pretrial conference or other later time.

C.  OPTION TO PRODUCE BUSINESS RECORDS.  Where the answer to an interrogatory may be derived or ascertained from the business records, including electronically stored information, of the party upon whom the interrogatory has been served or from an examination, audit or inspection of such business records, including a compilation, abstract or summary thereof, and the burden of deriving or ascertaining the answer is substantially the same for the party serving the interrogatory as for the party served, it is a sufficient answer to such interrogatory to specify the records from which the answer may be derived or ascertained and to afford to the party serving the interrogatory reasonable opportunity to examine, audit or inspect such records and to make copies, compilations, abstracts or summaries thereof.  A specification shall be in sufficient detail to permit the party submitting the interrogatory to locate and to identify, as readily as can the party served, the records from which the answer may be ascertained.

Added by Laws 1982, c. 198, § 10.  Amended by Laws 1983, c. 142, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 1983; Laws 1989, c. 129, § 9, eff. Nov. 1, 1989.  Renumbered from Title 12, § 3210 by Laws 1989, c. 129, § 14, eff. Nov. 1, 1989.  Amended by Laws 1996, c. 61, § 7, eff. Nov. 1, 1996; Laws 2010, c. 50, § 6, eff. Nov. 1, 2010.