During the course of a business dispute or a lawsuit involving businesses, each of the parties will typically want to depose key witness who may have important information about the case. The parties may also want to depose each other in order to learn what their opposition will say at trial.
When dealing with individuals, this is relatively easy. You can identify the person, subpoena them to attend, and ask them about all matters within their knowledge. In business disputes, however, it is often the knowledge of the business that is most important, and that knowledge is rarely limited to one individual. In these cases, 30(b)(6) depositions become important.
How Do 30(b)(6) Depositions Work in Rancho Cucamonga?
30(b)(6) depositions are depositions of a corporate entity that are performed by a corporate designee. The corporate designee is expected to acquire the knowledge of the company and be available to answer questions in his or her corporate representative capacity rather than as an individual.
Because the knowledge of a corporation rarely lies with one individual, a corporate representative must acquire the knowledge of the corporation by talking with the various employees at the corporation who may know information relevant to the dispute. The corporate representative then presents this information at the 30(b)(6) deposition.
The Logistics of a 30(b)(6) Deposition
Acquiring the full knowledge of a corporation would be very difficult, if not impossible, for one person to do on all topics. For this reason, in order to facilitate a 30(b)(6) deposition and make it productive for all parties, the party seeking a 30(b)(6) deposition must send a notice of topics to be covered in advance of the deposition.
The corporation can then identify certain individuals to respond to different topics contained within the notice or assign one person the responsibility for acting in this representative capacity. For example, if a dispute involves the financial affairs of the company and the actions of its sales department, a corporation might designate its CFO to represent the company on financial matters and the VP of sales to represent the sales department.
When 30(b)(6) notices are exchanged, the parties have the ability to negotiate the topics covered at the deposition, including whether certain topics might be irrelevant or overly broad. Whatever final topics the parties agree to, the corporate representatives designated must do their best to research those topics so that they can fully and adequately speak to them at the deposition.
Conversely, the parties taking the 30(b)(6) deposition cannot suddenly spring new topics on a corporate representative at the deposition. They must stick to the topics previously identified or they risk the possibility that the corporate representative will be unable to answer the questions asked.
California Attorneys Helping You Prep for a 30(b)(6) Deposition
If your business is involved in litigation and believes that a a 30(b)(6) deposition may be imminent, it is important that you fully understand the obligations and responsibilities of your company to prepare for such a deposition and how best to respond.
At CKB Vienna, LLP, our attorneys frequently assist clients in preparing for, and taking, 30(b)(6) depositions when they are helpful to advancing the purposes of litigation. For more information, contact us online or at (909) 980-1040. .