Admissions

[custer]

Are there alternatives to answering admissions other than admit or deny in a civil credit card case?

For example if the question is

admit that defendant requested a revolving charge account with Plaintiff Amex

or

Admit that Amex issued revolving charge account number XX to defendant

Can I answer something like

Defendant at this time does not have sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegation contained therein, and leaves the Plaintiff to provide proof. Defendant demands strict proof thereof.

[Recovering Attorney]

No, you can't asnwer that way. You have to admit or deny. That being said, did you deny the same allegations in the complaint? If so, a current denial would not be frivilous. I would preface your answer with a short "OBJECTIONS" that says you object to teh statements as they ask you to admit or deny questions of ultimate fact which is plaintiff's burden and reserved for the court, but without waiving your objections, you answer as follows"

[tempteroffate]

You definitely need to either Admit or Deny. Anything not specifically Denied will be deemed admitted and could lead to a summary judgment.

Did you in fact apply for an Amex card at some point? There's no harm in saying you applied. They routinely deny those applications. You could have applied a dozen times before you got one, so sure, admit you applied for one. Did you ever have an Amex card? Do you still have the card or any statements from them? If not then you can't truthfully admit that the account number is correct and thus have no way of knowing if they're talking about the same card.

I would answer something like this:

Q1. Admit that defendant requested a revolving charge account with Plaintiff Amex.

A1. Admitted. The defendant requested a revolving charge account with Plaintiff Amex on numerous occasions.

Q2. Admit that Amex issued revolving charge account number XX to defendant.

A2. Denied. Although the defendant admits having a revolving charge account with Plaintiff Amex at one time, he cannot with certainty say that the account was number XX and demands strict proof thereof.