Plaintiff must seek leave of court (by noticed motion) to amend the bill of particulars just as he or she would to amend a pleading. At trial, plaintiff is limited to the items and amounts specified in his or her bill of particulars. Unlike responses to discovery, a bill of particulars is conclusive as to the items and amounts claimed. Proc., § 454.) If the original complaint was verified, the bill of particulars must also be verified. Plaintiff’s response must itemize the specifics of the account, and must be delivered to the defendant within 10 days after service of the demand. Defendant’s demand must be in writing, but there is no particular form required. It is far easier and less expensive to send out a simple demand for bill of particulars than it is to draft interrogatories or to prepare for and take a deposition. A demand for bill of particulars is just an alternative to written discovery.Ĭode of Civil Procedure § 454 provides: ““It is not necessary for a party to set forth in a pleading the items of an account therein alleged, but he must deliver to the adverse party after a demand thereof in writing, a copy of the account, or be precluded from giving evidence thereof.”Īlthough written discovery such as interrogatories and oral depositions can be used for the same purpose, the bill of particulars remains an effective alternative procedure. There isn't anything set forth by law regarding an extension of time. You could, but it probably wouldn't really benefit you if you denied the extension request. Whether any application of the statute will be helpful with depend on the determination of the court. You could also simply deny any extension, and then seek to bar evidence in any untimely response. If the plaintiff does not timely respond you will have documentation showing that you provided a reasonable extension, but that plaintiff still failed to respond, and therefore its evidence should be barred. If the plaintiff timely complies, you should have the description of the account to be prepared for trial. You could point out in your faxed letter or email that the plaintiff should have had its accounting prepared and evaluated before it brought suit on the account, and therefore there is no legitimate grounds for a long delay. You could indicate that you will ask that all evidence of the plaintiff's account be barred if the response is not made by the specified date. One position would be to grant them a very brief extension, not more than 10 days, and specifying a date by which the full and complete description of the items of account must be supplied. Plaintiff wants an additional 30 days to respond while trial is rapidly approaching.Īs your own trial representative, you must make your own tactical decision. But the plaintiff's position appears entirely unreasonable. But that will not help you if the judge does not support your position. You could take the position that the evidence is barred if plaintiff fails to timely respond. As a very general rule, though, judges tend to favor reasonable applications of the law, and they will tend to favor parties that act reasonably and fairly. Judges, however, vary a great deal as to how they may enforce such procedures. The main consequence of failure to properly respond to a bill of particulars is the possibility that the plaintiff may not be permitted to present evidence of its account that was not provided in a timely response. The demand for a bill of particulars serves a purpose similar to some discovery procedures, but is it not a part of the discovery laws. However, attorneys and judges may disagree on the proper use and application of law and procedures. As usual, attorney Chen has provided a fine analysis in response to your question.
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