Practice Note, September 2026. One important procedural difference between the federal courts of New York and Florida lies in their approach to interrogatories.
In the Southern District of New York (SDNY), Local Civil Rule 33.3 significantly restricts the use of interrogatories. At the outset of litigation, parties may only serve interrogatories seeking (i) the names of witnesses with knowledge of relevant facts, (ii) the computation of each category of damages alleged, and (iii) the existence, custodian, and location of relevant documents. Further interrogatories – e.g., those seeking substantive contentions or detailed fact narratives – may be served only with the court’s permission (or as set forth in a case management order). The effect is to front-load discovery into document production and depositions, rather than extensive written substantive questions.
By contrast, in the Middle District of Florida (MDFL), the Local Rules do not impose such substantive limits. While Rule 3.02 requires parties to confer before bringing discovery disputes, the use of interrogatories is governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, without district-wide restrictions on their subject matter. Parties are therefore free to serve interrogatories on any non-privileged, relevant subject, subject to the numerical limits in Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a).
Strategic Implications:
- In the SDNY, counsel should plan to extract facts through depositions and document discovery, reserving interrogatories for only the most basic categories of information unless and until court approval is secured.
- In the MDFL, interrogatories remain a broader and potentially more useful discovery tool, allowing parties to identify and confirm the other side’s factual and legal positions earlier in the case.
This difference underscores the importance of tailoring discovery strategy to the local forum: what may be routine in Florida could be impermissible in New York.
_____
Madsen Haker PLLC is a litigation law firm that provides services in New York, Connecticut and Florida.