Silence admits everything
Requests for Admission — the Issue-Killer
Requests for admission force the other side to admit or deny specific facts and document authenticity — and matters generally stand ADMITTED automatically if no answer is served within 30 days. No other instrument punishes silence this hard.
Every admission removes a fact from the case permanently: dates, signatures, authenticity, account balances. Attorneys commonly open campaigns with admissions (fixing the battlefield) and close with them (stripping trial of manufactured disputes).
Florida generally caps admissions at 30 including subparts (effective April 2026), so each one is a scalpel: one fact per request, anchored to an exhibit where authenticity is the goal.
Denials have a price: a party that denies a fact later proved commonly faces the reasonable expenses — including attorney's fees — of making that proof. The denial-then-lose pattern is the quiet fee engine of discovery.
Do it, don't just read it
Common questions
I missed the 30 days — is it really all admitted?
Generally yes, by operation of the rule — though courts may permit withdrawal or amendment when it serves the merits and the other side isn't prejudiced. Move fast and verify; this is the sharpest clock in discovery.
Can I answer 'I don't know'?
Only after stating that a reasonable inquiry was made and the known-or-obtainable information is insufficient — a bare 'don't know' is commonly treated as a deficient answer.
What should I ask them to admit?
Commonly: document authenticity (kills foundation fights), the undisputable facts (dates, signatures, receipt), and the facts their own records prove — because a denial against their own paper sets up the fee shift.
The governing text — verbatim, never paraphrased
This guide is editorial; the linked pages carry the verbatim, hash-pinned text with its verification state. When a guide and the rule text could ever differ, the rule text wins — that is the whole doctrine.
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