Time Chart of Potential Mistakes: Answer Through Depositions and the Complaint
Answer Through Depositions
- Filing for Preliminary Conference
- Necessity or lack of necessity of good faith affirmation
- Timely responses to demands
- Conditional orders
- Preclusion
- Dismissal Orders
- Calendar control of appearances, status conferences, compliance conference, clerks call, abandonment of motions
- Use of Court order v. stipulation v. agreements of the parties, and enforcement
- Willful, contumacious failure to disclose
- Outside attorneys performing deposition
- Choosing the first EBT witness for a corporation or association
- What to ask for at the Preliminary Conference
- PC order not appealable
- Preparing your client for depositions
- Sufficient investigation during discover in order to do EBT
- Correctly responding to Interrogatories
- Use of Interrogatory and EBT
- Expert’s reports
- Pitfalls of discovery devices
- Demands for documents during deposition
- Stipulations during the deposition
- Asking for ruling during the deposition.
The Complaint
- Does it state a cause of action
- Will it survive a motion to dismiss on the pleadings
- Name all of the parties
- Venue set correctly
- Does it state a basis for venue
- Accurately name the parties
- Does it state damages for a contract cause of action in a different context from a negligence cause of action
- Verified
- Signed by the attorney
- Have the index number inscribed upon it
- Make a sufficient ad damnum demand
- Watch exception to Article 1600