Requests for Admission require the opposing party to admit whether certain facts are true, eliminating the need to prove those facts at trial. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 216, these Requests can be efficient tools to narrow the issues in dispute before trial. However, as the recipient of the request, you must take great care to comply with the 28-day response deadline. Missing that deadline can have serious consequences. If you fail to meet the deadline, the requests may be deemed admitted and used against you at trial. This result can be devastating to your case. However, relief may still be available.
Ways to Challenge or Avoid Deemed Admissions
Consider the following:
- Were the Requests for Admission received?
If not, a court may allow additional time beyond the statutory 28 days to respond.[1] Where it’s clear that the Requests were sent by the serving party but were not received, and the recipient party promptly seeks additional time after becoming aware of them, “good cause” will likely exist to warrant the court disallowing the deemed admission and allowing additional time to respond.[2] - Were the Requests for Admission served within the discovery period?
If not, they may be void from the beginning (ab initio). Unless otherwise specified by the court or agreed to by the parties, all discovery must be completed 60 days before trial.[3] This means Requests for Admission must be served on the recipient party at least 88 days prior to trial. If the serving party does not have a court order allowing for late service, they may be void ab initio. - Did the serving party follow the requirements when serving the Requests?
Supreme Court Rule 216 outlines specific requirements that must be followed by the serving party. First, a Request must be prepared as an independent document and served separately from any other discovery requests. Additionally, the following warning must be prominently displayed in a 12-point or larger bolded font on the front of the Requests:WARNING: If you fail to serve the response required by Rule 216 within 28 days after you are served with this document, all the facts set forth in the requests will be deemed true and all the documents described in the requests will be deemed genuine.[4]
The rule also limits the number of Requests that can be served to 30, including subparts.[5] If any of these requirements have not been met, a Motion to Quash or Strike may be filed to request relief from the effect of any Requests deemed admitted. - Do the Requests call for legal conclusions?
If so, they are improper. Only Requests calling for admissions of fact are proper. A Request is factual if it asks you to admit specific facts, even if those facts may later be used to support a legal argument. (Courts sometimes refer to this as requiring only a small inferential step.[6]) By contrast, if the Request calls for a legal conclusion, failure to respond will not result in a judicial admission.[7]
Conclusion
As legal practitioners, it is not enough to understand what is required to respond to Requests for Admission. Not all cases run smoothly or as expected. Becoming familiar with how to navigate less-than-ideal circumstances (such as when Requests for Admission have been automatically deemed admitted) is paramount. Knowing there are still avenues to consider despite a deemed admission will help maintain resilient, pragmatic case handling and ultimately prevent the derailment of a case.
[1] Vision Point of Sale, Inc. v. Haas, 226 Ill.2d 334, 348 (2007)
[2] Montalbano Builders, Inc. v. Rauschenberger, 341 Ill,App.3d 1075, 794 N.E.2d 401, July 25, 2003; Daniels v Lopez, 2013 Westlaw 1294671, 1st Dist., March 29, 2013
[3] Illinois Sup. Ct. Rule 218 (c)
[4] Illinois Sup. Ct. Rule 216 (g)
[5] Illinois Sup. Ct. Rule 216 (f)
[6] Montalbano v. Rauschenberger, 341 Ill.App.3d 1075 (3d Dist., 2003).
[7] Robertson v. Sky Chefs, Inc., 344 Ill.App.3d 196 (1st Dist., 2003).