M. Discovery

• Author: Julien D. Payne - Marilyn A. Payne
• Pages: 554-555

Page 554

In the vast majority of claims that focus on child support, there will be no examinations for discovery. The parties will simply proceed to a pre-trial conference and then to a trial, if necessary.¹²¹Questions are not permissible on an examination for discovery when they are, in effect, questions of law, not questions of fact.¹²²Only one examination for discovery may be had without leave of court.¹²³An examination for discovery of the respondent may take place only after the answer has been delivered, or after the time for delivering it has expired or default of answer has been noted against the respondent. The entering of an appearance neither enlarges nor abridges the time within which an answer is to be made. These matters are regulated by the rules of court and the parties and their counsel do not have the power to introduce unauthorized and contradictory procedures into the practice of the court. Although the court refuses to accept or recognize an examination for discovery that contravenes the rules of court, it may give counsel the opportunity to call the court reporter who took the examination as a witness to testify as to those statements of the respondent that were admissions against his interest and heard by the court reporter.¹²⁴

The modern trend of the law is to broaden the right to production and discovery, particularly with respect to financial disputes in matrimonial proceedings. A shareholder in a private company has the right to obtain and a positive duty to produce financial statements of the company where such production is sought by her spouse in matrimonial proceedings.¹²⁵Where a husband’s corporations are his agents, he is not entitled to rely on the proposition that they are separate legal entities and, therefore, they must produce their books and records for discovery, even though they are not parties to the proceedings to discover the husband’s financial position.¹²⁶The court will allow the petitioner to pierce the corporate veil and compel the respondent to answer questions respecting his corporate assets where the company is the mere agent of the respondent.¹²⁷A husband cannot arbitrarily restrict the information that he is ordered to disclose to his wife simply by asserting possible harm arising from any leak of this information to business competitors. Accordingly, he may be ordered to open his business and corporate records to inspection by his wife’s accountants and to furnish a better affidavit on...