What is the difference between interrogatories and requests for production of documents?

Interrogatories and requests for production of documents are both discovery tools that litigants use in civil procedure in Massachusetts. Interrogatories are questions in written form that one party in a lawsuit sends to the other. They must be answered in writing under oath and must be relevant to the subject matter of the lawsuit. The responses to interrogatories are usually used to get information and evidence about the other party’s claim or defense. Requests for production of documents are requests for the other party to provide documents that are relevant to the subject matter of the lawsuit. They must be related to the subject matter of the lawsuit and must be identified with sufficient detail. The responding party must produce the documents or object to the request. Documents requested can include papers, records, photographs, and other tangible items. The main difference between interrogatories and requests for production of documents is that interrogatories are used to get information and evidence from the other party, while requests for production of documents are used to get documents and other tangible items that are related to the subject matter of the lawsuit.

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