Taking and Defending Effective Depositions Under Rule 30(b)(6)
| Publication year | 2011 |
| Pages | 2 |
| Citation | Vol. 24 No. 2 Pg. 2 |
Vol. 24, No. 2. Taking and Defending Effective Depositions under Rule 30(b)(6)
Volume 24 No. 2
Mar/Apr 2011
Every attorney knows what it means to take the deposition of an individual, whether the deponent is a party to civil litigation or a non-party witness with knowledge pertaining to an issue in the case. But what about an organization? Information about how a company or organization conducts its operations, hires and trains its employees, handles its accounting and finances, or performs safety inspection may be crucial to proving either liability or damages, depending on the case. How can a party (whether a plaintiff or a defendant) obtain valuable, relevant testimony on these or other subjects from what may seem like a faceless entity?
The 30(b)(6) Deposition, Generally
The Federal and Utah Rules of Civil Procedure both anticipated the need for verbal testimony to be taken from a corporation, limited liability company, or other organizational entity, and set forth special guidelines under Federal Rule 30(b)(6) and Utah Rule 30(b)(6), respectively. Both the Federal and Utah rules permit (and require) a party seeking a deposition from an entity to direct a deposition notice to the entity that sets forth the subject matters of the desired testimony from whom testimony is sought. The Utah rule states:
A party may in the notice and in a subpoena name as the deponent a public or private corporation, a partnership, an association, or a governmental agency and describe with reasonable particularity the matters on which examination is requested. In that event, the organization so named shall designate one or more officers, directors, managing agents, or other persons who consent to testify on its behalf and may set forth, for each person designated, the matters on which the person will testify. A subpoena shall advise a nonparty organization of its duty to make such a designation. The persons so designated shall testify as to matters known or reasonably available to the organization. This Subdivision (b)(6) does not preclude taking a deposition by any other procedure authorized in these rules.
U.R.C.P. 30(b)(6). The Federal rule is similar in nature to the Utah rule and reads:
In its notice or subpoena, a party may name as the deponent a public or private corporation, a partnership, an...
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