Nonparty discovery

• Author: William M. Audet/Kimberly A. Fanady
• Pages: 207-238

7-1

CHAPTER 7:

NONPARTY DISCOVERY

TASKS

Task 40 Prepare Subpoenas

Task 41 Challenge Subpoenas

Task 42 Enforce Subpoenas

Task 43 Produce and Inspect Nonparty Documents

FORMS

Form 12 Subpoena

Form 13 Responses and Objections to Subpoena

Form 14 Motion

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PREPARE SUBPOENAS TASK 40

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TASK 40

Prepare Subpoenas

I. WHAT AND WHY

A. To prepare for trial, you may need to:

1. Obtain documents or electronically stored information (ESI) in a nonparty’s custody or control. See FR

CP 45(a)(1)(C)-(D).

2. Depose a nonparty. See FRCP 45(a)(1)(B).

3. Inspect a nonparty’s premises. See FRCP 45(a)(1)(C)-(D).

B. Nonparties may voluntarily comply with your discovery requests. However, to compel compliance, you must

serve a subpoena on the nonparty pursuant to Fed R. Civ. P. FRCP 45 et seq. See Kabbaj v. Simpson, Civil

Action No. 12-1322-RGA/MPT, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 55582, at *9 (D. Del. Mar. 7, 2013) (denying motions

to compel because of invalid subpoenas).

C. Typical nonparty documents include:

1. Medical records.

2. Government and regulatory records.

 

4. Eyewitness reports.

5. Education records.

6. Construction drawings, plans and reports.

D. Pursuant to FRCP 26(b)(1), you may subpoena only records that are relevant, and not privileged, and admissi-

ble or proportional to the needs of the case. W. Hills Farm, LLC v. ClassicsStar, LLC (In re ClassicStar Mare

Lease Litig.   

subpoena scope to be proportional to the needs of the case); cf., Layman v. Junior Players Golf Acad., Inc.,

   



between the accountant “and anyone else regarding this case,” and still contained a catchall provision for “any

   

as the scope of discovery in general and the court reviews the subpoena under the same scope and relevancy

standards. IntegraMed Am., Inc. v. Patton, 298 F.R.D. 326 (D.S.C. 2014). You may not compel a non-party to

create documents that do not exist. See Mir v. L-3 Communs. Integrated Sys., L.P., 319 F.R.D. 220, 227 (N.D.

Tex. 2016) (citation and quotation marks omitted).

 

undue burden or expense on the nonparty. The court for the district where compliance is required must enforce

this duty and impose appropriate sanctions including the nonparty’s lost earnings and reasonable attorneys’

fees on a party or attorney who fails to comply.

    

agents. See FRCP 30(b)(6). However, a subpoena is necessary to compel a corporate party’s other employees

to appear for deposition. Memory Bowl v. N. Pointe Ins. Co., 

adjusters); Shawnee Holdings, Inc. v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America, 57 Fed Rules Serv. 3d 988 (MD Pa

2004). A subpoena is also necessary to compel former corporate employees to appear for deposition. Simms

v. Ctr. for Corr. Health and Policy Studies, 272 F.R.D. 36 (D.D.C. 2011).

G. A nonparty may serve a subpoena to obtain his own prior statement concerning an action or its subject matter.

See Elam v. Ryder Auto. Operations, 179 F.R.D. 413, 415-16 (W.D.N.Y. 1998).

 

by subpoena. You may also request to inspect, copy, test, or sample ESI in any medium from which infor-

mation can be obtained, translated, if necessary, by the responding party into reasonably usable form. Your

subpoena may specify the form in which ESI is to be produced. The producing party is entitled to object to

the form. If objection is made, or if your subpoena does not specify a form, the producing party must state the

form it intends to use and must produce the information in a form in which it is ordinarily maintained or in a

reasonably usable form.