Discovery is very often one of the most time-consuming — and therefore expensive — aspects of litigation. The discovery process includes interrogatories, requests for production of documents, request for admissions and depositions.

Beyond the cost and time of discovery, many people find that the questions being asked are too personal or too invasive. This often leads to the “head-in-the-sand” approach, that is, ignore the discovery and hope that it will go away (it won’t).

During discovery, the opposition is allowed to ask questions about anything that might lead to usable information; thus, discovery questions can include almost anything — including things that may be embarrassing or may not seem relevant to your case.

Although the questions are intrusive, the consequences for not answering or complying with discovery are severe and costly. The punishments can include:

Disregarding objections — Any legitimate objections that you may have to the discovery will be automatically waived if you do not file your answers in a timely manner.

Being compelled to submit a response — When you do not respond to discovery the opposition can file a motion to compel with the court. The court will generally grant these motions, and depending on your jurisdiction, it may do so without a hearing.

At this point you will have no choice but to answer the questions or face the possibility of being held in contempt of court.

Paying the opposition’s attorney fees — The court considers the failure to respond to discovery reprehensible, and the courts like to punish these activities.

You can be ordered to pay a substantial amount of the opposition’s attorney fees on top of what you must already pay your own attorney.

Blocking your counter-argument — What this means is that the court can block you from using documentary, testimonial or witness evidence to combat evidence produced by the opposition.

An example is if the opposition claims that you make $250,000 per year and you in fact only make $50,000 per year; however, you could not produce any evidence to combat the claims of the opposition. The court could then use the $250,000 per year salary to award spousal and child support.

These punishments can be levied against you singularly or in conjunction, so you can end up paying the opposition’s attorney’s fees AND have your evidence blocked by procedure at the same time.

Refusing to comply during discovery can have dire consequences on the outcome of your trial. When dealing with discovery, it is best to give thorough, honest and timely answers so that you are able to avoid any negative repercussions.