Local Rule Local Civil Rule 30: Depositions – Expenses – Summaries – Reviewing Depositions

LOCAL CIVIL RULE 30

DEPOSITIONS – EXPENSES – SUMMARIES – REVIEWING DEPOSITIONS

(A) Discovery: Any party, or representative of a party (e.g., officer, director, or managing agent), filing a civil action in the proper division of this Court must ordinarily be required, upon request, to submit to a deposition at a place designated within the division. Exceptions to this general rule may be made on order of the Court when the party, or representative of a party, is of such age or physical condition, or special circumstances exist, as may reasonably interfere with the orderly taking of a deposition at a place within the division. A defendant, who becomes a counterclaimant, cross-claimant, or third-party plaintiff, shall be considered as having filed an action in this Court for the purpose of this Local Rule. This subsection shall not apply to an involuntary plaintiff or an interpleader plaintiff.

(B) Recording and Transcribing Transcript of Discovery Deposition: The expense of recording a deposition shall be paid by the party seeking to take same. The expense of transcribing the deposition shall be paid by any party ordering the preparation of the original. Any other party desiring a copy of said deposition shall pay for same at the copy rate. Parties may, by agreement, equally share the costs of attendance and transcribing, including such copies as desired.

(C) Attorneys' Fees: Unless the services of associate counsel are retained, in lieu of travel expense, it is not the policy of the Court to make an allowance of counsel fees in attending any deposition, except to the extent provided by statute and otherwise in this Local Rule, but the Court reserves the right to make a reasonable allowance where the circumstances of the case may justify same.

(D) Security for Travel Expense: Any party desiring to take the deposition of a witness (not a party or representative of a party) for discovery or use at trial or a party or representative of a party as ordered by the Court under Local Civil Rule 30(A), beyond a division of the Court in which the action is pending, shall, if such testimony cannot be readily procured in another manner, prepay or secure the reasonable cost of travel of not more than one opposing counsel to the place of taking the deposition and return therefrom, but in no event shall the reasonable costs of travel exceed an amount which would reasonably be required to be paid to associate counsel in the area in which the deposition is being taken unless insufficient time is allowed in giving the notice to take depositions.

(E) Travel Expense: The costs of travel as provided in this Local Rule shall consist of the reasonable costs of travel by air or other public transportation, or an allowance for travel by private automobile at the prevailing rate per mile as may be provided for federal government employees on official business, or whichever means of transportation is reasonably selected and used, including the cost of transportation from the office or residence to the terminal of the public transportation and from the destination terminal to the place of the taking of the deposition, and reasonable overnight accommodations, if deemed reasonably necessary, and return. The Court may, in its discretion, make a reasonable allowance for food.

The cost of travel, as herein defined, shall apply to any witness (not a party or the representative of a party) required to attend the taking of a deposition. As to any witness attending a trial or hearing in a civil action, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 45(b)(2), the expense of such cost of travel shall be taxed as costs if said witness testifies or if it is reasonably necessary for the witness to appear, but said costs of travel shall be limited to what would have been expended if said witness resided within one hundred (100) miles from the place of the trial or hearing, together with such reasonable allowance, if required for the purpose of the witness testifying, for overnight accommodations and food. If the witness resided within one hundred (100) miles of the place of trial or hearing, the cost of travel shall be limited to the mileage and attendance fees as provided by law.

(F) Reviewing Depositions: Whenever depositions are expected to be presented in evidence, counsel shall, before the final pretrial conference or if same are not then available before the day of trial, review such depositions and (1) extract therefrom a short statement of the qualifications of any expert witness to read to the jury, (2) eliminate unnecessary and/or irrelevant matters, and (3) eliminate all objections and statements of counsel to avoid reading same to a jury. In the event counsel are unable to agree on what shall be eliminated, they shall submit to the Court for a ruling thereon before the date of trial. Failure to do so will constitute a waiver of objections.

(G) Summaries of Depositions: In all nonjury cases, counsel shall attach to any deposition a summary of the examination of the testimony of each witness, thereby pointing out the salient points to be noted by the Court.

(H) Reasonable Notice: As a general rule, eleven (11) days in advance of the contemplated taking of a deposition shall constitute reasonable notice of the taking of a deposition in the continental United States, but this will vary according to the complexity of the contemplated testimony and the urgency of taking the deposition of a party or witness at a particular time and place.