While most discovery requests are routine or boilerplate, some discovery requests can offer insight into the opposing party’s thinking. Such discovery requests provide fodder for deposition or trial questions.
Recently an opposing party asked my client to “Admit or deny that you show anger around the children.” Being human, my client admitted the request. What parent hasn’t gotten angry around his or her children? However the mere act of issuing this request raises interesting questions about the other parent. Does this parent see all manifestations of anger as inappropriate? Does this parent discourage the children from displaying negative emotions? Does this parent discourage the children from feeling negative emotions? The parent issuing this request for admission may feel she is demonstrating my client’s capacity for anger. Her question, instead, demonstrates her apparent discomfort with humans showing anger.
A more general example is discovery intended to show a parent doesn’t sufficiently value a child’s safety. That parent may intend such discovery to demonstrate the other parent’s lesser concern over the child’s safety. However, such discovery often demonstrates that parent’s elevation of safety over all other parenting issues. A very useful line of questioning against such parents is “are you raising your child to be safe or strong?” One hopes family court judges prefer the answer be “strong.” When that parent answers “safe,” one can follow up by asking how that parent expects that child to develop independence or resilience.
In divorce cases, unusual discovery requests indicate the other party’s concerns. An interrogatory seeking an inventory of a particular type of item indicates that party believes such items need close consideration and valuation in equitable distribution. Questions about cash transactions shortly prior to filing indicates that party hopes to claw these funds back into the marital estate as an advance against equitable distribution.
Unusual discovery requests can provide insight into the other party’s values and concerns. These insights then provide useful lines of inquiry for discovery or at trial.
