North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 11 - INSURANCE › Chapter 23 - INDUSTRIAL COMMISSION › Subchapter A - WORKERS' COMPENSATION RULES › Section .0600 - CLAIMS ADMINISTRATION AND PROCEDURES › Section 23A .0605 - DISCOVERY

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
In addition to depositions provided for in
					 G.S.
					 97-80, parties may obtain discovery by the
					 use of interrogatories and requests for production of documents as
					 follows:
(1) Any party may serve upon
				  any other parties written interrogatories, up to 30 in number, including
				  subparts thereof, to be answered by the party served or, if the party served is
				  a public or private corporation or a partnership or association or governmental
				  agency, by any officer or agent, who shall furnish such information as is
				  available from the party interrogated.
(2) Interrogatories may, without leave of the
				  Commission, be served upon any party after the filing of a Form 18
Notice of Accident to Employer and Claim of Employee, Representative, or
				  Dependent,
Form 18B
Claim by Employee, Representative, or
				  Dependent for Benefits for Lung Disease,
or Form 33
Request
				  that Claim be Assigned for Hearing,
or after the acceptance of
				  liability for a claim by the employer.
(3) Each interrogatory shall be answered
				  separately and in writing under oath, unless it is objected to, in which event
				  the reasons for objection shall be stated in lieu of an answer. The answers
				  shall be signed by the person making them and the objections shall be signed by
				  the party making them. The party on whom the interrogatories have been served
				  shall serve a copy of the answers and objections, if any, within 30 days after
				  service of the interrogatories. The parties may stipulate to an extension of
				  time to respond to the interrogatories. A motion to extend the time to respond
				  shall state that an attempt to reach agreement with the opposing party to
				  informally extend the time for response has been unsuccessful and the opposing
				  party's position or that there has been an attempt to contact the opposing
				  party to ascertain its position.
(4) If there is an objection to or other
				  failure to answer an interrogatory, the party submitting the interrogatories
				  may move the Commission for an order compelling answer.
(5) Interrogatories and requests for
				  production of documents shall relate to matters that are not privileged, that
				  are relevant to an issue in dispute, or that the requesting party reasonably
				  believes may later be disputed. The signature of a party or attorney serving
				  interrogatories or requests for production of documents constitutes a
				  certificate by such person that he or she has personally read each of the
				  interrogatories and requests for production of documents, that no such
				  interrogatory or request for production of documents will oppress a party or
				  cause any unnecessary expense or delay, that the information requested is not
				  known or equally available to the requesting party, and that the interrogatory
				  or requested document relates to an issue presently in dispute or that the
				  requesting party reasonably believes may later be in dispute. A party may serve
				  an interrogatory, however, to obtain verification of facts relevant to an issue
				  presently in dispute. Answers to interrogatories may be used to the extent
				  permitted by Chapter 8C of the North Carolina General Statutes.
(6) The parties may serve requests for
				  production of documents without leave of the Commission until 35 days prior to
				  the date of hearing.
(7) Additional
				  methods of discovery as provided by the North Carolina Rules of Civil Procedure
				  may be used only upon motion and approval by the Commission or by agreement of
				  the parties. The Commission may approve the motion if it is shown to be in the
				  interests of justice or to promote judicial economy.
(8) Discovery requests and responses,
				  including interrogatories and requests for production of documents, shall not
				  be filed with the Commission, except for the following:
(a) notices of depositions;
(b) discovery requests and responses deemed
				  by filing party to be pertinent to a pending motion;
(c) responses to discovery following a motion
				  or order to compel; and
(d)
				  post-hearing discovery requests and responses.
The above-listed documents shall be filed with the
					 Commission, as well as served on the opposing party.