What can happen if a party in a lawsuit fails to respond to discovery requests? Mitch O’Donnell and Thomas Affeldt were recently involved in an appeal that answers that question.
The Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Mitch and Tom’s clients. On behalf of our clients, we served discovery requests (Request for Production of Documents, Requests for Admission, and Interrogatories) on the plaintiff. The court ordered the plaintiff to answer the discovery requests. The plaintiff refused to answer the discovery requests. After Mitch and Tom filed a Motion for Sanctions, the Court dismissed the case with prejudice which barred the Plaintiff from refiling. The plaintiff appealed the dismissal of her claim. The Oklahoma Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision. What is even better is that the Court of Appeals awarded Mitch and Tom appellate related attorney fees. The end result was that Mitch’s and Tom’s client won, and that the Plaintiff has to pay Mitch’s and Tom’s attorney fees.