Discovery: Get information to prepare for your eviction trial

Get the Discovery form here on page 5 of this Discovery booklet.

Fill in the top of the Discovery form the same way you filled in the top of your Answer form in Booklet 3. 

Read over your Answer. Think about the information you need from your landlord to prove each of the defenses and counterclaims you have checked off. 

Look at the Discovery form.

• Check off questions in the INTERROGATORIES section that help you prove your case. You can check up to 30 questions. Some boxes are already checked because every tenant needs their landlord to answer these questions in an eviction case. 
• Check off the documents you need in the DOCUMENTS REQUEST section. You can ask for as many documents as you want that will help you prove your case.

If you have questions or you need documents that are not listed, write them in the blank spaces at the end of the Discovery form.

After you check the boxes for all the questions and documents you want in the Discovery Request:

1. Fill in your name and address on the last page. Check the box next to the way you plan to get these forms to your landlord or their lawyer.
2. You must get your Discovery form to your landlord, or their lawyer, and the court by the deadline. 
   1. It is best to file and serve your Discovery Requests at the same time you file your Answer. 
   2. Your Answer is due 3 business days before the date of the “Housing Specialist Status Conference” also called the “First-Tier Court Event (in Housing Court) or the “Case Management Conference” (in District Court). 
   3. If you are not sure when your Answer is due, call the court clerk. 
   4. At the District Court event, you can ask the judge to establish discovery deadlines tailored to your specific case. 
3. Make 2 copies of the Discovery form. Do not include these instructions.
4. File the original, signed Answer and Discovery forms with the court by the Answer deadline. Call the clerk before you file and ask them what the best way is to file. You can:
   1. Take it to the clerk’s office. If you hand-deliver to the court, ask the court to stamp the date on your copy so you have proof that you filed it on time.
   2. Send it to the court electronically. Use the court’s online filing system or call and ask the court if you can email them. This is the best way if you can do it! To learn how to e-file, see How do I register to use e-filing?
   3. Mail it, but only if it is at least a week before the deadline to ensure that it arrives by the deadline. Mail is slow and not reliable. You will lose important rights if the documents are late. 
5. Deliver a copy of your Discovery and Answer to your landlord’s lawyer or your landlord by the Answer deadline. If there is a number on the “BBO#” line, your landlord has a lawyer. To deliver a copy, you can:
   1. Hand-deliver it to your landlord's lawyer or your landlord. 
   2. E-mail it. Your landlord’s lawyer must accept the copy you email them. You can find their email at the bottom of the Summons and Complaint. If your landlord doesn’t have a lawyer, ask your landlord if they will accept your Answer and Discovery by email. If they agree in writing in an email or text, you can email it. If your landlord does not agree, you must get it to them a different way.
   3. Fax it. You can fax your landlord’s lawyer or your landlord, but only if they agree in writing to accept it by fax. If they do not agree, you must get a copy to them in a different way.
   4. Mail it, but only if it is at least a week before the deadline to ensure that they arrive by the deadline. Mail is slow and not reliable.
6. Keep a copy for yourself. Keep it safe and bring it with you when you go to court.

Your landlord must answer your questions and give you the documents you asked for in 10 days or less from the date they got your Discovery Form. 

You can ask the judge to order your landlord to answer your Discovery if your landlord:

• Does not respond to your Discovery. 
• Does not give you all the information you asked for. 

See Compelling Discovery below for a Motion to Compel Discovery form. Use this motion to ask the judge to postpone your hearing until the landlord answers or responds fully to your Discovery.

When the landlord gives you the information you asked for in your Discovery, read their answers and look at all documents. Look for statements or information that helps you prove your case. For example, your landlord may admit that:

• You offered to pay rent. 
• They knew about bad conditions in your apartment. 
• They did not put your security deposit in a special bank account. 

Also watch for contradictions in your landlord’s story. For example, 

• Your landlord may say they did not know about the bad conditions. But they also say they were in your apartment, or they hired people to do repairs.

At your trial:

• Tell the court if your landlord admitted important facts in their responses to your Discovery.
• You may also ask the landlord the same questions you asked in the Discovery Form. If your landlord gives a different answer, point out the difference to the judge or jury. 
• You can ask the judge to look at documents that support your side of the story, including the documents the landlord gave you in response to your Discovery Form.

Your landlord has 10 days from the date they get your Discovery to answer your questions and give you the documents you ask for. If you email the Discovery Requests, then the landlord has 3 more (business) days to respond.

If they do not respond or give you the information or documents you need within the time frame stated above, or they object to your Discovery, you can file the Motion to Compel form on page 27 of the booklet.

You have 5 business days from the date your landlord's response is due to file your Motion to Compel. 

In your Motion to Compel, you can ask the judge to:

• Order the landlord to give you complete answers to your Discovery requests and put the case on hold until the landlord gives you answers to your Discovery requests. 
• End or “dismiss” the landlord’s case and enter judgment in your favor.
• Stop the landlord from being able to give the court information or evidence related to your defenses or counterclaims.

See more about what happens at the court hearing for your Motion to Compel.

Download the Motion to Compel form on page 27 of the PDF booklet.

If your case is in Housing Court and your landlord’s responses to your Discovery were incomplete, ask the court clerk if the Housing Court has any special requirements for filing a Motion to Compel.

Important

You must get the form to the court and your landlord or their lawyer within 5 business days of the date your landlord's response to your Discovery was due.

Fill in the spaces at the top of the motion the same as you did in your Answer and Discovery forms.

1. Write in the date you mailed, delivered, or emailed your Discovery to the landlord or their lawyer. Copy this from the last page of your Discovery.
2. Check the boxes next to the reasons you are filing this motion.
3. On the bottom of the form check the box next to the way you plan to get the motion to your landlord or their lawyer.
4. Fill in the date, your name, address, and telephone number. Sign the motion.
5. Make 2 copies. 

• File the original with court. Call the clerk before you file and ask them what the best way is to file. You can:
  • Take it to the clerk’s office. If you hand-deliver to the court, ask the court to stamp the date on your copy so you have proof that you filed it on time.
  • Send it to the court electronically. Use the court’s online filing system or call and ask the court if you can email them. This is the best way if you can do it!
  • Do not mail it. There is not enough time. 
• Deliver a copy of your forms to your landlord’s lawyer or your landlord. Look at the right side of the Summons and Complaint. If there is a number on the “BBO#” line, your landlord has a lawyer. To deliver a copy, you can:
  • You can deliver it by hand or email it to your landlord's lawyer.  The lawyer's email address is at the bottom of the Summons and Complaint. If your landlord does not have a lawyer you need a written agreement from your landlord that says they agree to get your motion by email. It is important to deliver this by hand or email it, because the mail may be too slow.
• Keep a copy for yourself. Keep it safe and bring it with you when you go to court.

The court will send you a letter that tells you the date and time of the hearing for your Motion to Compel Discovery. 

When your case is called, tell the clerk you filed a Motion to Compel Discovery. When you go before the judge, tell the judge that you requested Discovery, and that your landlord did not answer, or did not answer fully. Tell the judge why you need the information you asked for.

You can ask the judge to do a number of things, including:

• Require the landlord to give you complete answers to your Discovery requests and put the case on hold until the landlord gives you answers to your Discovery requests. 
• End or “dismiss” the landlord’s case and enter judgment in your favor.       
• Stop the landlord from being able to give the court information or evidence related to your defenses or counterclaims. 

If you win this motion and judge orders your landlord to answer your questions and give you all the documents you asked for in your Discovery, the judge will also probably postpone your eviction trial.

If you lose this motion, you may have your trial that day. But you can ask the judge to schedule it for a different day. If you lose at trial, you may have the right to appeal, ask the judge for more time to move, or both. See Booklet 7: Appeals and Booklet 8: Stay.