Filing and pursuing a lawsuit may seem fairly simple, but the devil is often in the details as the old cliché goes. How so? Well, take the discovery tool of request for admissions as an example. This seemingly simple tool can often come back to haunt legal counsel at the end of a lawsuit.

Let's start with the basics. What are request for admissions? The initial state of the lawsuit consists of a period called "discovery". As the name implies, this is when you get to discover what evidence the other side has. In movies and television shows, this is done through dramatic deposition testimony. Depositions aren't nearly as exciting in real life, nor are they the only tool of discovery. There is another batch of tools called written discovery. In these, you get to ask the other side to do things like produce all documents relevant to the case, provide basic information like whether they've been sued or sued before and so on.

The request for admissions are part of this written discovery. In it, you serve a number of written statements on the other party and ask them to admit that these statements are true. If the other party believes the statements are not true, then they are to provide the reason why not and evidence supporting their rebuttal. It sounds straightforward, but most responses come back with denials and a host of objections about the way the statements were worded and so on. The asking party can then ask the judge to take a look at the dispute, but the issue is often dropped.

So, what is the big deal? Well, more than a few jurisdictions have tried to put teeth in the request for admissions process. In such states, a denial of a statement that is later shown to have been true can be grounds for the denial of attorney's fees which are usually tens of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some states will even give the prevailing party advantages in evidence that can turn the ultimate result of the case. Each state handles it differently, but the point is denying a request for admission when you knew it was true can end up being a major mistake.

If you live in a state that gives a request for admission some teeth, you should use the tool to maximum effect. Doing so can be a way to nail down the position of the other party. Once that occurs, they have to stick with that position no matter how badly their case is going. That is often a fatal result.