BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1875
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1875 (Gatto)
          As Amended May 7, 2012
          Majority vote 

           JUDICIARY           7-3                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Feuer, Atkins, Dickinson, |     |                          |
          |     |Huber, Monning,           |     |                          |
          |     |Wieckowski, Chesbro       |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |Nays:|Wagner, Gorell, Jones     |     |                          |
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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           SUMMARY  :  Limits a civil deposition of any person to one day of 
          seven hours, except as specified.  Specifically  this bill  :

          1)Provides, unless ordered by the court, that a deposition in a 
            civil case shall be limited to one day of seven hours or no 
            more than seven hours over two days if a witness is ill or 
            over 65 years of age.  Specifies that the court shall allow 
            additional time if needed to fairly examine the deponent or if 
            the deponent, another person, or any other circumstance 
            impedes or delays the examination. 

          2)Specifies that the limitation described above shall not apply 
            if the parties have stipulated that this section will not 
            apply to a specific deposition or the entire proceeding. 

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Permits a party to a civil action to take an oral deposition 
            of any person, including other parties to the action, upon 
            service of a proper notice indicating the date, time, and 
            location of the deposition, as well as notice of any materials 
            that must be produced at the deposition.  

          2)Permits any party or deponent, at any time before, during, or 
            after a deposition, to seek an order from the court protecting 
            the deponent from unwarranted annoyance, embarrassment, or 
            oppression, or undue burden or expense, and authorizes a 
            deposition officer to suspend the taking of testimony to 








                                                                  AB 1875
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            enable the party or deponent to move for such protective 
            order.  Specifies that the protective order may impose certain 
            conditions or limitations on the deposition, including an 
            order that the deposition be terminated or not taken at all.  

          3)Provides, under federal rules, that unless otherwise 
            stipulated or ordered by the court, a deposition is limited to 
            one day of seven hours.  Specifies that a federal court may 
            allow additional time if needed to fairly examine the deponent 
            or if the deponent, another person, or any other circumstance 
            impedes or delays the examination.  

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None
           
          COMMENTS  :  Existing law allows a party to a civil action to take 
          an oral deposition of any person, including another party or the 
          other party's witness, as part of the pre-trial civil discovery 
          process.  This testimony is reduced to writing for purposes of 
          preparing for trial or, under some circumstances, for use at 
          trial.  California's Civil Discovery Act sets forth a number of 
          rules governing the means and times for notifying deponents and 
          the manner in which depositions must be conducted.  In many ways 
          California law parallels the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure on 
          these matters.  For example, both federal rules and state law 
          permit a deponent or party to seek a protective order 
          terminating the deposition if it becomes overly oppressive or 
          burdensome.  However, while the federal rules presumptively 
          limit depositions to one day of seven hours per deponent - 
          unless circumstances warrant additional time or the parties 
          stipulate otherwise - California law contains no such 
          limitation.  According to the author and supporters of this 
          bill, the lack of any limitation in state law has led to 
          needlessly long and repetitive questioning of deponents, for 
          apparently no other purpose than to delay the proceeding or to 
          discourage a plaintiff from proceeding with a suit. 

          This bill, therefore, would adopt the language of Federal Rules 
          of Civil Procedure by limiting a civil deposition, as a general 
          rule, to one day of seven hours, albeit with one minor 
          exception.  Because deponents who are ill or elderly may have 
          difficulty sitting for a deposition for seven hours straight, 
          this bill would allow their seven hours of deposition to be 
          spread over two or more days.  This exception is not contained 
          in the federal rules.  








                                                                  AB 1875
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          By adopting the federal rule that a deposition shall be limited 
          to seven hours unless otherwise stipulated or ordered, this bill 
          effectively reverses the presumption in existing state law.  
          Under existing law, that is, there is no limitation on the 
          length of a deposition unless the parties stipulate to 
          limitations or the court orders a limitation.  This bill, on the 
          other hand, would begin with the presumption that a deposition 
          is limited to seven hours unless the parties stipulate otherwise 
          or the court orders an extension.  

          Supporters contend, among other things, that this bill merely 
          adopts the one-day of seven hours from the Federal Rules of 
          Civil Procedure, and that if the rule is workable in the federal 
          courts then it will also work in the state courts.  There is 
          some justification for this position.  Federal courts, after 
          all, handle litigation every bit as complex as litigation 
          handled in California courts.  There are also important 
          differences between state and federal courts, some of which may 
          argue for a greater presumptive limits on the length of 
          depositions in state court and some of which may cut the other 
          way.  These differences include case volume and court resources, 
          the general type and complexity of the issues in many cases, 
          practice styles of counsel, rules of procedure, court 
          "cultures," and the availability of judicial supervision.  The 
          author, the sponsor, have engaged in and are committed to 
          working with Assembly Judiciary Committee counsel and continuing 
          a dialog involving the courts and other court users in an effort 
          to develop consensus on an approach that will promote fair 
          outcomes and the efficient and economical administration of 
          justice.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 


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