Legal Definitions - demurrer to interrogatories

A demurrer to interrogatories is a formal legal objection raised by a party or witness in a lawsuit who has received written questions, known as interrogatories, from another party. This objection asserts a specific legal reason why they should not be required to answer one or more of those particular questions.

Essentially, it's a way for someone to legally challenge a question asked during the discovery phase of a lawsuit, arguing that the question is improper for a defined legal reason and therefore does not need to be answered.

Here are some examples illustrating this concept:

• Imagine a lawsuit involving a car accident. The plaintiff's attorney sends interrogatories to the defendant, including a question asking for the defendant's entire medical history from birth, unrelated to the injuries sustained in the accident. The defendant's attorney would file a demurrer to interrogatories for that specific question, arguing it is overly broad, irrelevant to the current case, and potentially seeks privileged medical information. This illustrates an objection based on the scope and relevance of the question.

• Consider a business dispute where a former employee is suing their old company. The company's legal team sends interrogatories asking the former employee to disclose confidential details about their current employer's proprietary business strategies. The former employee's attorney would likely file a demurrer to interrogatories, asserting that answering such a question would violate a non-disclosure agreement with their new employer and seek information that is not relevant to the dispute with the old company. This demonstrates an objection based on privilege or confidentiality obligations.

• In a property dispute, one party sends hundreds of highly detailed interrogatories to an elderly witness, demanding extensive research into historical property records and personal recollections spanning 70 years, which would require an unreasonable amount of time and effort. The witness's attorney could file a demurrer to interrogatories, arguing that the questions are unduly burdensome and harassing, especially given the witness's age and the disproportionate effort required compared to the case's significance. This shows an objection based on the practical difficulty and potential misuse of the discovery process.