Question re Responding to Request for Admission from Debt Collector in a California Limited Civil Case.

Don't fool around with a request for admissions. Either admit or deny the requests, in good faith, or state that in good faith you are unable to do so. If you do not answer within the specified period of time you are deemed to have admitted everything requested and a motion for summary judgment against you is the likely next step. Do not fool around when you have been served with a request for admissions. Workers compensation benefits are controlled by statute in each state. Workers This answer is provided for informational purposes only. Actual legal advice can only be provided in an office consultation by an attorney licensed in your jurisdiction, with experience in the area of law in which your concern lies.

No, your responses are just responses to what the plaintiff asks. If you want to propound your own separate requests for production fo documents, or requests for admission, or interrogatories, you can do that (and there are plenty of form books you can use to copy the correct language), but you can't combine your responses to THEIR discovery requests with your own requests. Consider whether you want to get into a discovery battle and fight this lawsuit. If the debt is based on a written contract that you breached, that contract probably gives the prevailing party as award of their legal fees, on top of the debt they're suing on (plus their pre-judgment interest, late fees, etc.). You're representing yourself so you don't have any legal fees, even if you won, and if you have no good defense, like expiration of CA's 4 year (from the date of breach) statute of limitations, you're probably not going to be the prevailing party. Post-judgment interest is 10% - you're probably paying more than that in interest on the debt now. So why are you fighting this if you're going to lose, pay the other side's legal fees, and drag out the time to pay higher interest? You're better option is to try to settle this ASAP, with a payment plan you can actually afford and a conditional stipulated judgment that won't get entered if you make the agreed on payments. Or if this is big debt plus you have other debt that you can't pay off in ab out 5 years, bankruptcy may be an option. Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

A response to their discovery is not the opportunity for you to ask for things. Remember, you are under oath. You would need to serve a separate document with such requests. Please contact a lawyer to find out how much it would cost to you to compare the cost of having legal counsel versus the amount being sought in the debt collection complaint.

When requesting "proof," are you requesting proof of the debt? If so, you have the legal right in one or more ways. They include: 1)Civil Form Interrogatories; 2) Request for Admissions, 3) Specially Prepared Interrogatories; and 4) Request for Productionof Documents. You can also ask qustions in person. This is known as a "deposition." In other words, there are many ways to gather documents AND information from the plaintiff. The issue of incurring additional legal fees comes up at the end--depending on who wins. For instance, if YOU win, you have the right to ask for legal fees (if you hire an attorney) and costs (out of pocket expenses.) I strongly recommend you, at the very least, consult with an attorney, who might offer to consult with you and/or coach you--assuming you can't hire him or her to represent you. Good luck. Just so that we are clear, this is not legal advice. It's merely information for you to consider when handling "discovery matters."