5.7 Avoiding Mistakes That Can Lead to Sanctions

• Library: Civil Discovery in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2021 Ed.)

5.7 AVOIDING MISTAKES THAT CAN LEAD TO SANCTIONS

5.701 Thorough Preparation. Thorough preparation is the foundation for a successful deposition. Avoiding actions that can lead to sanctions or credibility issues is critical to the success of a deposition as a litigation tool.⁷⁰

5.702 Importance of the Truth. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for a witness to testify truthfully at a deposition. Not only can misleading or untruthful answers seriously harm the credibility of a witness (or your own client), they also can form the basis for evidentiary or monetary sanctions under Rule 4:12. Deposition testimony can be an effective tool to support a request for sanctions arising from other discovery abuses, or it may stand alone as a basis for sanctions:

Pretrial discovery is an integral part of the judicial process. The Rules of the Supreme Court of Virginia, as well as the guidelines promulgated by this court, point to the importance placed upon discovery by the judiciary. When parties engage in discovery, answers to that discovery must be responsive, honest, and complete. If they are not, and if the deficiency is the result of a deliberate attempt to avoid the discovery rules, sanctions under Rule 4:12 are appropriate. If a discovery response is in writing, and if it is not responsive, honest, and complete as a result of a deliberate attempt to avoid the discovery rules, sanctions under Va. Code § 8.01-271.1 are appropriate. . . . The real reason plaintiff did not answer those requests truthfully is because he thought it would hurt his case. As already noted, discovery is one of the integral processes of our judicial system. Litigants must not be allowed to toy with that process, or to provide anything other than honest and good-faith responses to

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