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You've filed a complaint with the court and served it on the defendants.  Now, you wish to depose - a deposition is a sworn out-of-court testimony of a witness or party in a lawsuit, taken before a court reporter and intended to be used in court, either for discovery purposes before trial or for evidence at trial.  Black’s Law Dict. (12th Ed. 2024) - a person or entity.  How do you compel their attendance at a deposition?  California Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.200; et seq., governs depositions.  To compel a witness to appear for a deposition, the party seeking to take the deposition must serve a legally enforceable Notice of Deposition, for parties to the litigation, or Deposition Subpoena, for third parties who are not a party to the litigation.  This article provides a concise overview of what these documents must contain to be legally enforceable.

A deposition notice must include all of the following required information:

Where the deponent is not a natural person, the deposition notice must also include a description with reasonable particularity of the matters on which examination is requested.  California Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.230.  This information triggers the deponent’s duty to designate persons who are qualified to testify as to these matters, to attend and testify on its behalf.  Id.

Where a deposition notice lacks one (1) or more of these requirements, the person or organization commanded to appear in response to the notice may serve written objections providing notice that they will not attend.  Additionally, they may attempt to obtain a protective order regarding the nonconforming notice.  Finally, they may file a motion to quash seeking an order to quash the notice of deposition as defective.  Oak Grove School Dist. v. City Title Ins. Co., (1963) 217 Cal. App. 2d 678.

Click here to access a blank deposition subpoena requiring personal appearance and the production of documents. Click here to access a blank Notice to Consumer or Employee and Objection. Click here to read our article on California Litigation's Notice to Consumer or Employee and Objection Requirement When Serving Certain Deposition Subpoenas (requesting consumer or employee records).