Legal Question in Personal Injury in Indiana
What does a plaintiff have to provide the defendant?
My minor son is being sued for some property damage at the location of a party he attended. It was not at the host's home, but at a different facility. The plaintiffs claim they have witnesses who can say he did it, but when we asked them to provide a witness list or a summary of the witness' expected testimonies, they refused to do so. Don't we have a right to know, or get the opportunity to find out, what witnesses claimed they saw? Meanwhile, they are asking for the same thing from us. Can we refuse the same way they did? Do we as defendants have to tell them anything?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: What does a plaintiff have to provide the defendant?
Please read Trial Rules 26 - 37 at the Indiana Judiciary Web Site.
Re: What does a plaintiff have to provide the defendant?
All parties have extensive discovery rights, including the right for witness lists and unprivileged witness statements. Enforcement of these discovery rights sometimes consumes a major portion of the time and expense and judicial patience of a lawsuit. Read and follow the local rules and the Indiana rules of trial procedure. If you have homeowners insurance, then you might also have a right for the insurer to provide legal representation to defend this claim and perhaps even pay it. Minors are legally incompetent to be parties to a lawsuit, so you will want your attorney to look into that. Parents can be legally resposnible for the damage caused by their children up to a limit. I suggest you get together a little bag of money and confer with a real lawyer. And finally, what's the big deal here? What does your son say happened? If your son misbehaved, work it out with the injured party, assert your parental controls, and make your son pay. Good luck.
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