Mark Kosieradzki on the New Edition of 30(b)(6): Deposing Corporations, Organizations & the Government

The first two editions of 30(b)(6): Deposing Corporations, Organizations & the Government took away institutional adversaries’ ability to stonewall access to information. Having lost that battle, they have moved on to a new strategy and have now turned their efforts to blocking the use of 30(b)(6) evidence at trial.

Creative arguments are being raised to challenge the very use of 30(b)(6) testimony at trial. The jurisprudence regarding 30(b)(6) testimony at trial has evolved and, in some cases, changed since the last publication of my book. I wrote the third edition to keep you armed with the arguments and citations you need to respond to a myriad of challenges:

• Because 30(b)(6) testimony is often based on hearsay, Fed. R. Evid. 602 “lack of personal knowledge” is being raided as an evidentiary challenge to the testimony.
• Battles have been fought about whether an organization can introduce the testimony of its own designee.
• Is the entire 30(b)(6) transcript required or just excerpts of the testimony?
• Can an organization introduce parts of the 30(b)(6) deposition in response to what you introduced?
• Different lines of jurisprudence have emerged when the 30(b)(6) testimony has involved a nonparty.
• When organizations have produced their designee as a lay fact witness, they have objected to cross-examining the witness with existing 30(b)(6) testimony.
• Corporations have even attempted to have their expert witnesses ignore the facts established by their own designees.
• There are legal questions as to whether the designee and/or the corporation can be subpoenaed for trial.
• The very notion of “binding effect” is being challenged with attempts to disavow the 30(b)(6) testimony at trial.
• Even the notion of what constitutes “personal knowledge” has spawned a new area of jurisprudence.

The answers to all these issues are found in the third edition. As a bonus, I have also updated the appendix so there is a current analysis of the analogous 30(b)(6) rules for every state.

I am confident you will find this new book a powerful supplement to your battles with corporations, organizations, and the government.

Go get ’em!

—Mark Kosieradzki