Compelling Witnesses for Depositions and to Bring Documents With Them
This section governs deposition notices when the witness is also being
requested to appear and produce documents. Always request that the other
party bring documents to a deposition. Not only are documents almost always
a critical part of evidence that you need to learn about or nail down
in family law litigation, lawyers know that if that party fails to fully
comply with the production it forms the basis to suspend the deposition
"in progress" and resume another day. This may give you "two
bites of the apple" which otherwise would not be available (possibly
spanning months in between), since you can generally depose someone only
once assuming the deposition is completed.
Want to Learn More About Document Production in Depositions?
CALIFORNIA CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE
ORAL DEPOSITION INSIDE CALIFORNIA
Deposition Notice
C.C.P. Section 2025.220
(a) A party desiring to take the oral deposition of any person shall give
notice in writing. The deposition notice shall state all of the following:
(1) The address where the deposition will be taken.
(2) The date of the deposition, selected under Section 2025.270, and the
time it will commence.
(3) The name of each deponent, and the address and telephone number, if
known, of any deponent who is not a party to the action. If the name of
the deponent is not known, the deposition notice shall set forth instead
a general description sufficient to identify the person or particular
class to which the person belongs.
(4) The specification with reasonable particularity of any materials or
category of materials to be produced by the deponent.
(5) Any intention by the party noticing the deposition to record the testimony
by audio or video technology, in addition to recording the testimony by
the stenographic method as required by Section 2025.330 and any intention
to record the testimony by stenographic method through the instant visual
display of the testimony. If the deposition will be conducted using instant
visual display, a copy of the deposition notice shall also be given to
the deposition officer. Any offer to provide the instant visual display
of the testimony or to provide rough draft transcripts to any party which
is accepted prior to, or offered at, the deposition shall also be made
by the deposition officer at the deposition to all parties in attendance.
Any party or attorney requesting the provision of the instant visual display
of the testimony, or rough draft transcripts, shall pay the reasonable
cost of those services, which may be no greater than the costs charged
to any other party or attorney.
(6) Any intention to reserve the right to use at trial a video recording
of the deposition testimony of a treating or consulting physician or of
any expert witness under subdivision (d) of Section 2025.620. In this
event, the operator of the video camera shall be a person who is authorized
to administer an oath, and shall not be financially interested in the
action or be a relative or employee of any attorney of any of the parties.
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), where under Article 4 (commencing
with Section 2020.410) only the production by a nonparty of business records
for copying is desired, a copy of the deposition subpoena shall serve
as the notice of deposition.