California Code of Civil Procedure Section 2033

2033.  (a) Any party may obtain discovery within the scope delimited
by Section 2017, and subject to the restrictions set forth in
Section 2019, by a written request that any other party to the action
admit the genuineness of specified documents, or the truth of
specified matters of fact, opinion relating to fact, or application
of law to fact.  A request for admission may relate to a matter that
is in controversy between the parties.
   (b) A defendant may make requests for admission by a party without
leave of court at any time.  A plaintiff may make requests for
admission by a party without leave of court at any time that is 10
days after the service of the summons on, or, in unlawful detainer
actions, five days after the service of the summons on, or appearance
by, that party, whichever occurs first. However, on motion with or
without notice, the court, for good cause shown, may grant leave to a
plaintiff to make requests for admission at an earlier time.
   (c) (1) No party shall request, as a matter of right, that any
other party admit more than 35 matters that do not relate to the
genuineness of documents.  If the initial set of admission requests
does not exhaust this limit, the balance may be requested in
subsequent sets.  Unless a declaration as described in paragraph (3)
has been made, a party need only respond to the first 35 admission
requests served that do not relate to the genuineness of documents,
if that party states an objection to the balance under paragraph (2)
of subdivision (f) on the ground that the limit has been exceeded.
   The number of requests for admission of the genuineness of
documents is not limited except as justice requires to protect the
responding party from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment,
oppression, or undue burden and expense.
   (2) Subject to the right of the responding party to seek a
protective order under subdivision (e), any party who attaches a
supporting declaration as described in paragraph (3) may request a
greater number of admissions by another party if the greater number
is warranted by the complexity or the quantity of the existing and
potential issues in the particular case.
   If the responding party seeks a protective order on the ground
that the number of requests for admission is unwarranted, the
propounding party shall have the burden of justifying the number of
requests for admission.
   (3) Any party who is requesting or who has already requested more
than 35 admissions not relating to the genuineness of documents by
any other party shall attach to each set of requests for admissions a
declaration containing substantially the following words:

      DECLARATION FOR ADDITIONAL DISCOVERY

   I, _______, declare:
   1.  I am (a party to this action or proceeding appearing in
propria persona) (presently the attorney for ______, a party to this
action or proceeding).
   2.  I am propounding to ____ the attached set of requests for
admission.
   3.  This set of requests for admission will cause the total number
of requests propounded to the party to whom they are directed to
exceed the number of requests permitted by paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c) of Section 2033 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
   4.  I have previously propounded a total of ____ requests for
admission to this party.
   5.  This set of requests for admission contains a total of ____
requests.
   6.  I am familiar with the issues and the previous discovery
conducted by all of the parties in this case.
   7.  I have personally examined each of the requests in this set of
requests for admission.
   8.  This number of requests for admission is warranted under
paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 2033 of the Code of Civil
Procedure because ____.  (Here state the reasons why the complexity
or the quantity of issues in the instant lawsuit warrant this number
of requests for admission.)
   9.  None of the requests in this set of requests is being
propounded for any improper purpose, such as to harass the party, or
the attorney for the party, to whom it is directed, or to cause
unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation.

   I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of California
that the foregoing is true and correct, and that this declaration was
executed on _____.


                      _______________________________________
                                    (Signature)
                       Attorney for _________________________

   (4) A party requesting admissions shall number each set of
requests consecutively.  In the first paragraph immediately below the
title of the case, there shall appear the identity of the party
requesting the admissions, the set number, and the identity of the
requesting party, the set number, and the identity of the responding
party.  Each request for admission in a set shall be separately set
forth and identified by letter or number.
   (5) Each request for admission shall be full and complete in and
of itself.  No preface or instruction shall be included with a set of
admission requests unless it has been approved under Section 2033.5.
  Any term specially defined in a request for admission shall be
typed with all letters capitalized whenever the term appears.  No
request for admission shall contain subparts, or a compound,
conjunctive, or disjunctive request unless it has been approved under
Section 2033.5.
   (6) A party requesting an admission of the genuineness of any
documents shall attach copies of those documents to the requests, and
shall make the original of those documents available for inspection
on demand by the party to whom the requests for admission are
directed.
   (7) No party shall combine in a single document requests for
admission with any other method of discovery.
   (d) The party requesting admissions shall serve a copy of them on
the party to whom they are directed and on all other parties who have
appeared in the action.
   (e) When requests for admission have been made, the responding
party may promptly move for a protective order.  This motion shall be
accompanied by a declaration stating facts showing a reasonable and
good faith attempt at an informal resolution of each issue presented
by the motion.
   The court, for good cause shown, may make any order that justice
requires to protect any party from unwarranted annoyance,
embarrassment, oppression, or undue burden and expense.  This
protective order may include, but is not limited to, one or more of
the following directions:
   (1) That the set of admission requests, or particular requests in
the set, need not be answered at all.
   (2) That, contrary to the representations made in a declaration
submitted under paragraph (3) of subdivision (c), the number of
admission requests is unwarranted.
   (3) That the time specified in subdivision (h) to respond to the
set of admission requests, or to particular requests in the set, be
extended.
   (4) That a trade secret or other confidential research,
development, or commercial information not be admitted or be admitted
only in a certain way.
   (5) That some or all of the answers to requests for admission be
sealed and thereafter opened only on order of the court.
   If the motion for a protective order is denied in whole or in
part, the court may order that the responding party provide or permit
the discovery against which protection was sought on terms and
conditions that are just.
   The court shall impose a monetary sanction under Section 2023
against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or
opposes a motion for a protective order, unless it finds that the one
subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or that
other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.
   (f) The party to whom requests for admission have been directed
shall respond in writing under oath separately to each request.  Each
response shall answer the substance of the requested admission, or
set forth an objection to the particular request.  In the first
paragraph of the response immediately below the title of the case,
there shall appear the identity of the responding party, the set
number, and the identity of the requesting party.  Each answer or
objection in the response shall bear the same identifying number or
letter and be in the same sequence as the corresponding request, but
the text of the particular request need not be repeated.
   (1) Each answer in the response shall be as complete and
straightforward as the information reasonably available to the
responding party permits.  Each answer shall (A) admit so much of the
matter involved in the request as is true, either as expressed in
the request itself or as reasonably and clearly qualified by the
responding party, (B) deny so much of the matter involved in the
request as is untrue, and (C) specify so much of the matter involved
in the request as to the truth of which the responding party lacks
sufficient information or knowledge.  If a responding party gives
lack of information or knowledge as a reason for a failure to admit
all or part of a request for admission, that party shall state in the
answer that a reasonable inquiry concerning the matter in the
particular request has been made, and that the information known or
readily obtainable is insufficient to enable that party to admit the
matter.
   (2) If only a part of a request for admission is objectionable,
the remainder of the request shall be answered.  If an objection is
made to a request or to a part of a request, the specific ground for
the objection shall be set forth clearly in the response.  If an
objection is based on a claim of privilege, the particular privilege
invoked shall be clearly stated.  If an objection is based on a claim
that the matter as to which an admission is requested is protected
work product under Section 2018, that claim shall be expressly
asserted.
   (g) The party to whom the requests for admission are directed
shall sign the response under oath, unless the response contains only
objections.  If that party is a public or private corporation, or a
partnership or association or governmental agency, one of its
officers or agents shall sign the response under oath on behalf of
that party.  If the officer or agent signing the response on behalf
of that party is an attorney acting in that capacity for the party,
that party waives any lawyer-client privilege and any protection for
work product under Section 2018 during any subsequent discovery from
that attorney concerning the identity of the sources of the
information contained in the response.  The attorney for the
responding party shall sign any response that contains an objection.

   (h) Within 30 days after service of requests for admission, or in
unlawful detainer actions within five days after service of requests
for admission, the party to whom the requests are directed shall
serve the original of the response to them on the requesting party,
and a copy of the response on all other parties who have appeared,
unless on motion of the requesting party the court has shortened the
time for response, or unless on motion of the responding party the
court has extended the time for response. In unlawful detainer
actions, the party to whom the request is directed shall have at
least five days from the date of service to respond unless on motion
of the requesting party the court has shortened the time for
response.
   (i) The party requesting admissions and the responding party may
agree to extend the time for service of a response to a set of
admission requests, or to particular requests in a set, to a date
beyond that provided in subdivision (h).  This agreement may be
informal, but it shall be confirmed in a writing that specifies the
extended date for service of a response.  Unless this agreement
expressly states otherwise, it is effective to preserve to the
responding party the right to respond to any request for admission to
which the agreement applies in any manner specified in subdivision
(f).  Notice of this agreement shall be given by the responding party
to all other parties who were served with a copy of the request.
   (j) The requests for admission and the response to them shall not
be filed with the court.  The party requesting admissions shall
retain both the original of the requests for admission, with the
original proof of service affixed to them, and the original of the
sworn response until six months after final disposition of the
action.  At that time, both originals may be destroyed, unless the
court, on motion of any party and for good cause shown, orders that
the originals be preserved for a longer period.
   (k) If a party to whom requests for admission have been directed
fails to serve a timely response, that party thereby waives any
objection to the requests, including one based on privilege or on the
protection for work product under Section 2018.  However, the court,
on motion, may relieve that party from this waiver on its
determination that (1) the party has subsequently served a response
that is in substantial compliance with subdivision (f), and (2) the
party's failure to serve a timely response was the result of mistake,
inadvertence, or excusable neglect.
   The requesting party may move for an order that the genuineness of
any documents and the truth of any matters specified in the requests
be deemed admitted, as well as for a monetary sanction under Section
2023.  The court shall make this order, unless it finds that the
party to whom the requests for admission have been directed has
served, before the hearing on the motion, a proposed response to the
requests for admission that is in substantial compliance with
paragraph (1) of subdivision (f).  It is mandatory that the court
impose a monetary sanction under Section 2023 on the party or
attorney, or both, whose failure to serve a timely response to
requests for admission necessitated this motion.
   (l) If the party requesting admissions, on receipt of a response
to the requests, deems that (1) an answer to a particular request is
evasive or incomplete, or (2) an objection to a particular request is
without merit or too general, that party may move for an order
compelling a further response. The motion shall be accompanied by a
declaration stating facts showing a reasonable and good faith attempt
at an informal resolution of each issue presented by the motion.
   Unless notice of this motion is given within 45 days of the
service of the response, or any supplemental response, or any
specific later date to which the requesting party and the responding
party have agreed in writing, the requesting party waives any right
to compel further response to the requests for admission.
   The court shall impose a monetary sanction under Section 2023
against any party, person, or attorney who unsuccessfully makes or
opposes a motion to compel further response, unless it finds that the
one subject to the sanction acted with substantial justification or
that other circumstances make the imposition of the sanction unjust.

   If a party then fails to obey an order compelling further response
to requests for admission, the court may order that the matters
involved in the requests be deemed admitted.  In lieu of or in
addition to this order, the court may impose a monetary sanction
under Section 2023.
   (m) A party may withdraw or amend an admission made in response to
a request for admission only on leave of court granted after notice
to all parties.  The court may permit withdrawal or amendment of an
admission only if it determines that the admission was the result of
mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect, and that the party who
obtained the admission will not be substantially prejudiced in
maintaining that party's action or defense on the merits.  The court
may impose conditions on the granting of the motion that are just,
including, but not limited to, an order that (1) the party who
obtained the admission be permitted to pursue additional discovery
related to the matter involved in the withdrawn or amended admission,
and (2) the costs of any additional discovery be borne in whole or
in part by the party withdrawing or amending the admission.
   (n) Any matter admitted in response to a request for admission is
conclusively established against the party making the admission in
the pending action, unless the court has permitted withdrawal or
amendment of that admission under subdivision (m).  However, any
admission made by a party under this section is (1) binding only on
that party, and (2) made for the purpose of the pending action only.
It is not an admission by that party for any other purpose, and it
shall not be used in any manner against that party in any other
proceeding.
   (o) If a party fails to admit the genuineness of any document or
the truth of any matter when requested to do so under this section,
and if the party requesting that admission thereafter proves the
genuineness of that document or the truth of that matter, the party
requesting the admission may move the court for an order requiring
the party to whom the request was directed to pay the reasonable
expenses incurred in making that proof, including reasonable attorney'
s fees.  The court shall make this order unless it finds that (1) an
objection to the request was sustained or a response to it was waived
under subdivision (l), (2) the admission sought was of no
substantial importance, (3) the party failing to make the admission
had reasonable ground to believe that that party would prevail on the
matter, or (4) there was other good reason for the failure to admit.