30(b)(6): Deposing Corporations, Organizations & the Government, Third Edition

Description

How do you depose something that isn’t a person? In 30(b)(6): Deposing Corporations, Organizations, and the Government, author Mark Kosieradzki answers that question and gives you the tools you need to cut through defense smokescreens and end the runaround once and for all.

Kosieradzki breaks down Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6) and shows how to navigate the bureaucratic maze and build a substantial record of the defense’s words and documents to hold them accountable. Kosieradzki offers advice on communicating with cagey representatives, dealing with the defense’s obstacles, and performing effective and efficient 30(b)(6) depositions in all fifty states.

Kosieradzki addresses the 2020 amendment to Rule 30(b)(6) that establishes the need to “meet and confer,” discusses the jurisprudence concerning post COVID-19 logistics, and provides updates on how each state–from California to Washington and Florida to New York–has amended their own rules or added different provisions. And just as important, he teaches how to counter the many new ways defense lawyers have invented to try and evade and obstruct your ability to get to the truth.

This new third edition builds upon the analysis, strategy, and case law in the first two editions and addresses the most important issue since the 2020 amendment change: trial.

Featuring a complete rewrite of the section on using 30(b)(6) testimony in trial, and including new updates on how Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(6) has been adopted in all fifty states, this edition gives lawyers involved in litigation with institutional parties the tools they need to navigate their cases from deposition to verdict. Although the principles of the 30(b)(6) discovery process have remained stable, the entire body of law involving the use of 30(b)(6) at trial has seen significant changes. With this new edition, you will be armed with the law you need as you head to trial.

After all, great cases need great evidence. In 30(b)(6), Mark Kosieradzki shows you how to get the evidence you need.

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Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

Acknowledgments

Foreword to the Third Edition by Sach Oliver

Foreword to the Second Edition by John Romano

Publisher’s Note

Introduction

1. Deposing Organizations
   1. Introduction
   2. Learning about 30(b)(6)
   3. Deposing Organizations in State Courts
   4. The Steps of Rule 30(b)(6)
   5. Summary
2. Building a Record
   1. Introduction
   2. Set Up the Legal Framework
   3. Lock Down Facts
   4. Establish Standards of Conduct
   5. Establish Motive
   6. Neutralize Defenses
   7. Summary 
3. Details of Rule 30(b)(6): Deposing Organizations by Issue Designation
   1. Introduction
   2. Rule 30(b)(6) by Issue Designation
   3. Depose Nonparties with Rule 30(b)(6)
   4. Subpoenas Are Issued by the Presiding Court
   5. Location of a Nonparty 30(b)(6) Deposition
   6. Objections to Nonparty Subpoenas 
   7. You Can Depose Noncorporate Organizations with 30(b)(6)
   8. Depose Government Entities with 30(b)(6)
   9. Depose Foreign Organizations with 30(b)(6)
   10. Summary
4. Rule 30(b)(6) Logistics: Location, Duration, and Number of Depositions
   1. Introduction
   2. You Choose the Sequence of Discovery and Depositions
   3. Location of a Party Deposition
   4. Location of a Nonparty Deposition 
   5. Calculation of Time Limitations
   6. Multiple Witnesses for a Single 30(b)(6) Notice
   7. Multiple 30(b)(6) Notices
   8. Designee v. Individual Depositions
   9. Video Depositions
   10. Virtual Depositions
   11. Summary
5. Deposing Officers, Directors, and Managing Agents: 30(b)(1) Depositions
   1. Introduction
   2. A Managing Agent’s Word Binds an Organization
   3. Where Do Depositions Take Place?
   4. Is Your Witness a Managing Agent? 
   5. Former Officers, Directors, and Managing Agents
   6. Deposing Executives
   7. Who Establishes That This Deposition Is Necessary?
   8. Rule 30(b)(6): An Alternative to Deposing the Executive
   9. Summary
6. Deposing Low-Level Employees
   1. Introduction
   2. Informal Communication Employees
   3. Former Employees
   4. Responsibilities During the Investigation
   5. Involuntary Representation
   6. Summary
7. Crafting the 30(b)(6) Notice: The Requesting Party’s Duties
   1. Introduction
   2. Reasonable Particularity and Painstaking Specificity
   3. Qualifiers
   4. You Decide the Method of Discovery
   5. Summary
8. Scope of the 30(b)(6) Notice: What Can You Ask About?
   1. Introduction
   2. Scope of Discovery
   3. What Can You Ask in Matters of Examination?
   4. Summary
9. Rule 30(b)(6) Foundation Depositions
   1. Introduction
   2. Problems with Rule 34 Document Requests
   3. Objections to Rule 34 Document Requests
   4. What Is “Possession, Custody, and Control?”
   5. Produced Documents Must Be Organized
   6. The Solution: Rule 26(b)(1) Foundation 30(b)(6) Deposition
   7. Rule 30(b)(6)
   8. Foundation for Future Requests
   9. Preempt Improper Objections
   10. Summary
10. Electronic Discovery
    1. Introduction
    2. Technological Framework
    3. Understanding the Interplay of Discovery Rules for Tailoring Requests
    4. 30(b)(6) Foundational Depositions on ESI Systems
    5. Overcoming Objections to Rule 30(b)(6) ESI Foundation Depositions
    6. Overburdensome by Design
    7. Internal Database Report Capabilities
    8. Email 30(b)(6) Testimony
    9. Summary
11. Process-Based Discovery: Identifying Incomplete Discovery Using 30(b)(6)
    1. Introduction
    2. Process-Based Discovery, a.k.a. “Discovery about Discovery”
    3. When Is Process-Based Discovery Appropriate?
    4. Summary
12. Duty to Attend
    1. Introduction
    2. Duty to Appear
    3. Summary
13. Duty to Prepare
    1. Introduction
    2. Duty to Designate
    3. Duty to Prepare
    4. Privilege Waiver
    5. Duty to Substitute a New Witness
    6. Summary
14. Scope of Inquiry
    1. Introduction
    2. Limiting the Scope Is Not Allowed
    3. Scope of Inquiry Objections
    4. Instructions Not to Answer
    5. Summary
15. Deposition Obstruction
    1. Introduction
    2. Obstructive Deposition Tactics Are Prohibited
    3. Conferring with Witnesses during Depositions
    4. Objections
    5. Sanctions
    6. Conclusion
    7. Summary
16. Motions to Compel and Sanctions
    1. Introduction
    2. Motion to Compel Facts
    3. Motion to Exclude Different Testimony
    4. Failure to Provide a Witness
    5. Delay Tactics
    6. Appearance with Inadequate or Unprepared Testimony
    7. Duty to Confer
    8. Expenses for Compelled Depositions
    9. Failure to Comply with an Order for Disclosure: Subsequent Sanctions
    10. Summary
17. Binding Effect
    1. Introduction
    2. The Witness Does Not Have Information
    3. Summary
18. Changing the Testimony
    1. Introduction
    2. Sham Affidavit Rule
    3. Deposition Errata Sheet Changes 
    4. Three Schools of Permissible Change
    5. Inquiring into the Basis for the Errata Sheet Change
    6. Summary
19. Using 30(b)(6) Testimony at Trial
    1. Introduction
    2. Using a Party 30(b)(6) Deposition at Trial
    3. Using Nonparty 30(b)(6) Witness Depositions at Trial
    4. Using 30(b)(6) Depositions from Other Cases
    5. Can Live Testimony from the 30(b)(6) Witness be Compelled for Trial?
    6. Attempts to Change the Story at Trial
    7. Motions in Limine
    8. Summary

Epilogue

Appendix A: Rule 30(b)(6) in All Fifty States

Appendix B: Sample 30(b)(6) Notice

Appendix C: Foundation Deposition Notice

Appendix D: Rule 30(b)(6) Depositions for Email

Appendix E: Contention 30(b)(6) Deposition

Appendix F: Corporate Structure 30(b)(6) Deposition

Appendix G: 30(b)(6) Federal Rule Change History

Index

About the Author

Related Information

The Definitive Guide to Using FRCP 30(b)(6) Depositions in Suing Governmental Agencies

California PMQ Depositions vs. FRCP 30(b)(6): Key Differences for Litigators

Does FRCP 30(b)(6) Apply in State Court? A Litigation Guide

FRCP 30(b)(6): The Ultimate Guide to Organizational Depositions in Federal Litigation

Author

Mark R. Kosieradzki

Trial Lawyer

Details

Hardcover: 592 pages; 3rd edition (2025); ISBN: 9781951962821

Publisher: Trial Guides, LLC

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