Counsel May Not Sign Client’s Name On Interrogatory Answers

Addressing a topic that arises in practice but rarely is the subject of court opinions, a federal district court has held that the requirement in Fed.R.Civ.P. 33 that interrogatory answers to be “signed by the person making them” means that an answering party may not authorize litigation counsel to sign the respondent’s name. In the rush of meeting a response deadline, attorneys often face logistical hurdles in obtaining the client’s signature. However, in MomsWIN, LLC v. Lutes, No. 02-2195-KHV, 2003 WL 21077437 (D. Kan. May 9, 2003), the court found counsel’s solution unacceptable — signing the clients’ names for them. It did not help that the attorney disguised his handwriting and had his paralegal notarize the forgery. The court treated the interrogatories as unanswered, set a deadline for answers to be served with valid signatures and without objections, ordered payment of attorney’s fees for plaintiff’s Rule 37 motion, and reported the notary to the State.