Requests for Admission

What It Is

Requests for admission (RFAs) under Federal Rule 36 ask the opposing party to admit or deny specific statements of fact or the application of law to fact. Unlike interrogatories, which ask questions, RFAs make assertions that the other side must respond to.

The Nuclear Option

Here’s the power move: if a party fails to respond within 30 days, each request is deemed admitted. Automatically. No court order needed.

This has ended cases. If the defendant doesn’t respond and you’ve crafted your RFAs well — “Admit that Officer Smith did not have probable cause to arrest plaintiff” — you may be able to win on summary judgment based on deemed admissions alone.

What to Request

Strong RFAs in § 1983 cases:

• “Admit that no warrant was issued for plaintiff’s arrest”
• “Admit that defendant Officer Smith’s body camera was activated during the incident”
• “Admit that plaintiff was not armed at the time of the arrest”
• “Admit that the document attached as Exhibit A is a true and correct copy of [police report]” — Authenticating documents via RFA saves time at trial
• “Admit that defendant City had no written policy on [specific topic] as of [date]“

How Defendants Respond

Defendants can:

1. Admit — The fact is established. No further proof needed.
2. Deny — They dispute it. You’ll need to prove it.
3. Object — They claim the request is improper (overly broad, vague, etc.)
4. Qualify — “Admit in part, deny in part” with explanation.

If their denial is unreasonable and you later prove the fact at trial, you can recover the costs of proving it under Rule 37(c)(2).

Strategic Use

• Use early to establish undisputed facts and narrow the issues for trial
• Use before summary judgment to lock in admissions that support your motion
• Authenticate documents — Much easier than calling a records custodian at trial
• No numerical limit in federal court (unlike interrogatories), but courts can limit unreasonable numbers

Key Rules

• Rule 36 — Requests for admission
• Rule 37(c)(2) — Costs of proving matters that should have been admitted