Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) After initiation
of a complaint, any party may obtain discovery by one or more of the following
methods:
1) Depositions upon oral examination
or upon written questions;
2)
Written interrogatories;
3)
Production of documents or other items, or permission to enter upon land or
other property, for inspection and other purposes; or
4) Requests for an informal conference for
purposes of setting a discovery schedule and plan.
b) Unless otherwise limited by order of the
Administrative Law Judge, the parties may obtain discovery regarding any
matter, not privileged, which is relevant to the subject matter involved in the
proceeding, including:
1) the existence,
description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any books, documents,
or other tangible things; and
2)
the identity and location of persons having knowledge of any discoverable
matter for purposes of impeachment of testimony, admission, exception to
hearsay or for which an affidavit may be used.
c) To the extent that any aspect of discovery
is not addressed in this Section, the rules of discovery as applied in civil
cases in the circuit courts of Illinois shall be followed. In the case of
conflict between this Section and the rules of discovery as applied in civil
cases in the circuit courts of Illinois, the latter shall prevail.
d) Production of Documents
Any party may, by written request, direct any other party to
produce for inspection, copying, reproduction or photographing any specified
documents, or to disclose information calculated to lead to the discovery of
the whereabouts of any of these items, whenever the nature, contents, or
condition of such documents is relevant to the subject matter and is not
privileged. The request shall specify a reasonable time, not less than 28 days,
within which the related actions are to be performed. The production,
inspection, copying or photographing of any departmental records shall be done
on Department premises, unless other arrangements can be made with the consent
of both parties. A person served with a written request for production of
documents shall:
1) Comply with the
request within the time specified, or
2) Serve upon the requester written
objections on the grounds that the request is improper in whole or in part and
state the reasons why this request is improper. Any objection to the request or
refusal to respond shall be heard by the ALJ upon prompt notice and motion of
the party submitting the request in accordance with section 10-40 of the
Illinois Administrative Procedure Act [5 ILCS 100
].
3) Upon request, furnish an
affidavit stating whether the production is complete in accordance with the
request.
e) Request for
Admissions
1) A party may serve on any other
party a written request for the admission by the latter of the truth of any
specified relevant fact set forth in the request and/or for the admission of
the genuineness of any relevant documents described in the request in
accordance with Supreme Court Rule 216. Copies of the documents shall be served
with the request unless copies have already been furnished. Each of the matters
concerning admission of fact, or the genuineness of each document for which
admission of fact is requested, shall be admitted, unless, within 28 days after
service of the request or additional time as may be granted by the ALJ, the
person to whom the request is directed serves upon the requesting party either:
A) A sworn statement denying specifically the
matter on which admission of fact is requested, or setting forth, in detail,
the reason why these matters cannot be truthfully admitted or denied. A denial
shall fairly meet the substance of the requested admission. If good faith
requires that a party qualify an answer or deny only a part of an admission of
fact, the party shall specify so much of it as is true and deny or qualify the
remainder. An answering person may not give lack of information or knowledge as
a reason for failure to admit or deny unless that person states that they have
made reasonable inquiries and that the information known or regularly
obtainable by that person is insufficient to enable the person to admit or deny
that fact; or
B) A written
objection on the grounds that some or all of the requested admissions of fact
are privileged or irrelevant. An objection on the grounds of relevance may be
noted by any party but it is not to be regarded as just cause for refusal to
admit or deny. If written objections to a request are made, the remainder of
the request shall be answered within the period designated in the request. A
requesting party, upon receipt of any objection, may have the objection heard
and determined by the ALJ upon prompt notice and motion directed to the
ALJ.
2) Any admission
made by a party to a request under this Part is for the purpose of the pending
action only. It does not constitute an admission by that party for any other
civil proceeding and may not be used against that party in any other
proceeding.
f)
Interrogatories
Any party may serve interrogatories on any other party. One
copy of the interrogatories shall be filed with the ALJ with proof of service
on all other parties entitled to notice. Written interrogatories shall be
reasonably spaced to permit the answering party to reply to the interrogatories
served on that party. The answering party may attach an addendum to the copies
if the space provided is insufficient. The number of written interrogatories
served shall not exceed 30, inclusive of all subsections, except by leave of
the presiding ALJ.
1) Within 28 days
after service of the interrogatories upon the relevant party, that party shall
timely file a sworn answer or an objection to each interrogatory and state its
basis. Sworn answers to interrogatories directed to a public or private
corporation, or a partnership or association shall be made by an officer,
partner, or agent, who shall furnish information available to the
party.
2) Duty of attorney. It is
the duty of an attorney directing interrogatories to restrict them to the
subject matter of the particular case, to avoid undue detail, and to avoid the
imposition of any unnecessary burden or expense on the answering
party.
g) Depositions
Any party may serve notice and take the deposition of another
person. The deposition shall be on the record. The party or party's attorney
before whom the deposition is to be taken shall put the witness under oath or
affirmation. Examination and cross-examination shall proceed as at a
hearing.
1) The deponent in a
discovery deposition may be examined regarding any matter subject to discovery
under this Part and Illinois Supreme Court Rule 206.
2) Any objections made at the time of the
examination shall be included in the deposition. The party before whom the
deposition is taken shall not rule on objections to the evidence, but evidence
objected to shall be taken subject to the objection.
3) When the testimony is fully transcribed,
the deposition shall be submitted to the deponent for examination and
signature, unless examination and signature are waived by the deponent. The
party's attorney shall certify within the deposition that the deponent was duly
sworn and that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the
deponent. If the deposition is not signed by the deponent, the party's attorney
shall certify the deposition and state the reason for the omission of the
signature. A certified deposition requires no further proof of
authenticity.
4) The party at whose
instance the deposition is taken shall pay the fees of the witness and the
charges of the recorder or stenographer for attending.
h) Expert or Opinion Witnesses
When requested by interrogatories served, all parties are under
a duty to disclose the identity of opinion witnesses, and to further disclose
the subject matter of any intended testimony of these witnesses.
i) Each different type of
discovery sought shall be by a separate document, labeled accordingly. All
discovery requests shall be served upon the litigator assigned to the case or
the petitioner or the petitioner's attorney depending on who is making the
request. Copies of discovery requests or demands shall be provided to the
presiding ALJ.
j) Hearings shall
not be delayed to permit discovery unless due diligence is shown by the party
seeking the discovery.
k)
Supplementation of Responses
A party that has responded to a request for discovery with a
response that was complete when made is under no duty to supplement their
response to include information thereafter acquired, except as follows:
1) A party is under a duty to timely
supplement their response with respect to any question directly addressed to:
A) The identity and location of persons
having knowledge of discoverable matters; and
B) The identity of each person expected to be
called as an expert witness at the hearing, the subject matter on which the
person is expected to testify, and the substance of the person's
testimony.
2) A party is
under a duty to timely amend a prior response if the party later obtains
information upon the basis of which:
A) The
party knows the response was incorrect when made; or
B) The party knows that the response though
correct when made is no longer true and that a failure to amend the response is
in substance a knowing concealment.
3) A duty to supplement responses may be
imposed by order of the ALJ or agreement of the parties.
l) Stipulations
If the parties stipulate, depositions and discovery may take
place before any person, for any purpose, at any time or place, and in any
manner.