Can a party use interrogatories or depositions in appeals before the DAB Appellate Division?
The DAB discourages interrogatories and depositions unless these are the only means to adequately develop the record on an issue that the DAB must decide to resolve the appeal. The DAB will take whatever steps are appropriate to ensure the fairness of its decision-making process, but discourages use of discovery devices which tend to delay DAB proceedings without contributing in any meaningful way to developing specific and substantive issues which the DAB must address to produce a sound decision. Whenever a party seeks to use a discovery device such as interrogatories or depositions, the first step is to seek a voluntary agreement with the other side. If the party cannot obtain such an agreement, it may request an order, but must be able to show relevance and necessity. The DAB grants such requests infrequently. In denying requests for depositions previously, we have noted that depositions are not generally required in administrative proceedings and that a deposition request would be
