West Virginia Code of State Rules › Agency 150 - Public Service Commission › Title 150 - EXEMPT LEGISLATIVE RULE PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION › Series 150-38 - Rules for the Government of Pole Attachments › Section 150-38-24 - Discovery

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 28, July 12, 2024
24.1. A
				complainant may file with the Commission and serve on a defendant, within 10
				days of filing the complaint, up to 10 written interrogatories. A defendant may
				file with the Commission and serve on a complainant, within 10 days of filing
				an answer, up to 10 written interrogatories. A complainant may file with the
				Commission and serve on a defendant, within 10 days of the reply, up to five
				additional written interrogatories. Subparts of any interrogatory will be
				counted as separate interrogatories for purposes of compliance with this limit.
				Interrogatories filed and served pursuant to this procedure may be used to seek
				discovery of any non-privileged matter that is relevant to the material facts
				in dispute in the pending proceeding. This procedure may not be employed for
				the purpose of delay, harassment, or obtaining information that is beyond the
				scope of permissible inquiry related to the material facts in dispute in the
				proceeding.
24.2. Interrogatories
				filed and served pursuant to Rule 24.1 shall contain an explanation of why the
				information sought in each interrogatory is both necessary to the resolution of
				the dispute and not available from any other source.
24.3. Unless otherwise directed by the
				Commission, within 7 calendar days, a responding party shall file with the
				Commission and serve on the propounding party any opposition and objections to
				interrogatories. The grounds for objecting to an interrogatory must be stated
				with specificity. Unless otherwise directed by the Commission, any
				interrogatories to which no opposition or objection is raised shall be answered
				within 20 calendar days.
24.4. The
				Commission shall determine the scope of, and schedule for answering, any
				disputed interrogatories based upon the justification for the interrogatories
				properly filed and served pursuant to Rule 22.1, and any objections or
				oppositions thereto, properly filed and served pursuant to Rule 24.3.
24.5. Interrogatories shall be answered
				separately and fully in writing under oath or affirmation by the party served,
				or if such party is a public or private corporation or partnership or
				association, by any officer or agent who shall furnish such information as is
				available to the party. The answers shall be signed by the person making them,
				and the attorney who objects must sign any objections. The answers shall be
				filed with the Commission and served on the propounding party.
24.6. The Commission, in its discretion, may
				allow additional discovery, including, but not limited to, document production
				and/or depositions, and it may modify the scope, means and scheduling of
				discovery in light of the needs of a particular case and the requirements of
				applicable statutory deadlines.
24.7. The Commission may, in its discretion,
				require parties to provide documents to the Commission in a scanned or other
				electronic format that:
24.7.1. Indexes the
				documents by useful identifying information; and
24.7.2. Allows staff to annotate the index so
				as to make the format an efficient means of reviewing the documents.