Deposing a corporation in California is the topic of this blog post.
Deposing a corporation in California utilizes the same procedure as deposing any other fictitious entity such as a limited liability company.
Any party to litigation in California that wishes to take the deposition of a corporation limited liability company or any other fictitious entity must serve a special notice of deposition describing with reasonable particularity the matters on which the examination is requested and comply with all other statutory requirements which I will briefly discuss in this blog post.
The person acting on behalf of the corporation, limited liability company, or any other fictitious entity is commonly known as the person most knowledgeable or PMK.
The California statutes that govern deposition notices are found in sections 2025.010 through 2025.620 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
A defendant in California litigation may serve a deposition notice without leave of court at any time after they have been served or have appeared in the action, whichever occurs first. However a plaintiff in California may only serve a deposition notice without leave of court on any date that is 20 days after the service of the summons on, or appearance by, any defendant. On motion with or without notice, the court, for good cause shown, may grant to a plaintiff leave to serve a deposition notice on an earlier date. See Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.210 which also specifies the other information required to be included in the deposition notice.
Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.230 states that, "If the deponent named is not a natural person, the deposition notice shall describe with reasonable particularity the matters on which examination is requested. In that event, the deponent shall designate and produce at the deposition those of its officers, directors, managing agents, employees, or agents who are most qualified to testify on its behalf as to those matters to the extent of any information known or reasonably available to the deponent.”
The party that is noticing the deposition is required to give notice to every other party who has appeared in the action. The deposition notice, or the accompanying proof of service, shall list all the parties or attorneys for parties on whom it is served. See Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.240(a).
The deposition of an organization that is a party to the action shall be taken at a place that is, at the option of the party giving notice of the deposition, either within 75 miles of the organization's principal executive or business office in California, or within the county where the action is pending and within 150 miles of that office. See Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.250(b).
Unless the organization consents to a more distant place, the deposition of any other organization shall be taken within 75 miles of the organization's principal executive or business office in California, see Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.250(c), or if an organization has not designated a principal executive or business office in California, the deposition shall be taken at a place that is, at the option of the party giving notice of the deposition, either within the county where the action is pending, or within 75 miles of any executive or business office in California of the organization, see Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.250(d).
If a party wants to take the deposition of a party who lives farther away than the limits specified in Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.250 they are required to file a motion with the Court under Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.260.
The notice of deposition must be served at least ten (10) days before the deposition unless the notice is served by mail in which case it must be served at least fifteen (15) days before the deposition. If production of consumer or employment records is being requested the notice must be served at least (20) days before the deposition unless the notice is served by mail in which case it must be served at least twenty five (25) days before the deposition. See Code of Civil Procedure § 2025.270.
Attorneys or parties in California who wish to view a portion of a sample deposition notice for person most knowledgeable containing all required statutory language along with a request for production of documents for a corporation, llc, or other fictitious entity created and sold by the author can use the link shown below.
Sample Notice of Deposition for Person Most Knowledgeable in California by Stan Burman on Scribd
Attorney or parties in California that would like more information on a California discovery document collection with over 40 documents including a sample deposition notice for person most knowledgeable containing all required statutory language along with a request for production of documents for a corporation, llc, or other fictitious entity created and sold by the author can use the link shown below.
The author of this blog post, Stan Burman, is a freelance paralegal who has worked in California and Federal litigation since 1995 and has created over 300 sample legal documents for sale.
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DISCLAIMER:
Please note that the author of this blog post, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this blog post is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.
The materials and information contained in this blog post have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this blog post is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the author and any readers. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.