Practice Points with Mark Scruggs: Rule 36 Request for Admissions
Today’s practice point is on Rule 36 Request for Admissions. Not a month goes by that we don’t have an insured call to report that they’ve missed the deadline for responding to a Request for Admissions. That’s bad because if a Request for Admissions is not timely responded to, the requested admissions are deemed admitted. Your recourse is generally to file a motion under Rule 36(b) asking the court to permit withdrawal or amendment of the admission.
But (1) if you represent the plaintiff and (2) there’s no counterclaim and (3) you’ve not taken a dismissal with prejudice before, there’s an even better option: get your client’s permission to file a voluntary dismissal without prejudice and then re-file. The admissions do not carry over to the new action. See Fieldcrest Cannon, Inc. v. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., 124 N.C. App. 232, 477 S.E. 2d 59 (1966).
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