210.27—General provisions governing discovery.
(a) Discovery methods.
The parties to an investigation may obtain discovery by one or more of the following methods: depositions upon oral examination or written questions; written interrogatories; production of documents or things or permission to enter upon land or other property for inspection or other purposes; and requests for admissions.
(b) Scope of discovery.
Regarding the scope of discovery for the temporary relief phase of an investigation, see § 210.61. For the permanent relief phase of an investigation, unless otherwise ordered by the administrative law judge, a party may obtain discovery regarding any matter, not privileged, that is relevant to the following:
(1)
The claim or defense of the party seeking discovery or to the claim or defense of any other party, including the existence, description, nature, custody, condition, and location of any books, documents, or other tangible things;
(3)
The appropriate remedy for a violation of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (see § 210.42(a)(1)(ii)(A) ); or
(4)
The appropriate bond for the respondents, under section 337(j)(3) of the Tariff Act of 1930, during Presidential review of the remedial order (if any) issued by the Commission (see § 210.42(a)(1)(ii)(B) ).
It is not grounds for objection that the information sought will be inadmissible at the hearing if the information sought appears reasonably calculated to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.
(c) Supplementation of Responses.
(1)
A party who has responded to a request for discovery with a response is under a duty to supplement or correct the response to include information thereafter acquired if ordered by the administrative law judge or the Commission or in the following circumstances: A party is under a duty seasonably to amend a prior response to an interrogatory, request for production, or request for admission if the party learns that the response is in some material respect incomplete or incorrect and if the additional or corrective information has not otherwise been made known to the other parties during the discovery process or in writing.
(2)
A duty to supplement responses also may be imposed by agreement of the parties, or at any time prior to a hearing through new requests for supplementation of prior responses.
(d) Signing of Discovery Requests, Responses, and Objections.
(1)
The front page of every request for discovery or response or objection thereto shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the Commission, the title of the investigation or related proceeding, and the docket number or investigation number, if any, assigned to the investigation or related proceeding.
(2)
Every request for discovery or response or objection thereto made by a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney's individual name, whose address shall be stated. A party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign the request, response, or objection and shall state the party's address. The signature of the attorney or party constitutes a certification that to the best of the signer's knowledge, information, and belief formed after a reasonable inquiry, the request, objection, or response is:
(i)
Consistent with § 210.5(a) (if applicable) and other relevant provisions of this chapter, and warranted by existing law or a good faith argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law;
(ii)
Not interposed for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation; and
(iii)
Not unreasonable or unduly burdensome or expensive, given the needs of the case, the discovery already had in the case, and the importance of the issues at stake in the litigation.
If a request, response, or objection is not signed, it shall be stricken unless it is signed promptly after the omission is called to the attention of the party making the request, response, or objection, and a party shall not be obligated to take any action with respect to it until it is signed.
(3)
If without substantial justification a request, response, or objection is certified in violation of paragraph (d)(2) of this section, the administrative law judge or the Commission, upon motion or sua sponte under § 210.25 of this part, may impose an appropriate sanction upon the person who made the certification, the party on whose behalf the request, response, or objection was made, or both.
(4)
An appropriate sanction may include an order to pay to the other parties the amount of reasonable expenses incurred because of the violation, including a reasonable attorney's fee, to the extent authorized by Rule 26(g) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Monetary sanctions shall not be imposed under this section against the United States, the Commission, or a Commission investigative attorney.
(5)
Monetary sanctions may be imposed under this section to reimburse the Commission for expenses incurred by a Commission investigative attorney or the Commission's Office of Unfair Import Investigations. Monetary sanctions will not be imposed under this section to reimburse the Commission for attorney's fees.