§ 24-13-151 [Petition Requirements for Perpetuating Testimony]

If you want to preserve someone's testimony before a lawsuit is filed, or use the court just to gather information, you need to show the court a good reason why the normal legal process will not work for you.

This usually means explaining something like a key witness is very ill, elderly, or about to leave the country and may not be available when the case actually goes to trial. Simply wanting to lock in testimony early is not enough on its own.