Interstate Discovery: Obtaining Testimony and Documents From Out-of-State, Non-Party Witnesses; Remote Depositions
Best Practices Under Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act, Uniform Foreign Depositions Act, State Laws, FRCP

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Personal Injury and Med Mal
- event Date
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will review the still complex task of compelling a non-party witness to attend a deposition, appear at trial, or produce documents in a foreign state for use in a civil action or arbitration pending in another state. The panel will review issuing, serving, and enforcing subpoenas under the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA), the Uniform Foreign Depositions Act (UFDA), non-uniform state procedure, and the federal rules. The program will also discuss rules, limits, and best practices for remote depositions and trial testimony.
Faculty

Mr. Ross represents clients in business disputes, commercial and securities litigation, government investigations, and class actions. He is ranked by Chambers USA in Securities Litigation (2023), where he is ranked in Band 1, and in Commercial Litigation (2023). Clients described him in Chambers USA as “an excellent attorney with a sophisticated knowledge of Florida law,” a lawyer who is “thorough in his analysis of the issues and creates workable, cost-efficient plans to solve them,” and “strategic, and thinks about the bigger picture and how to manage a difficult opponent” (2023). He has extensive experience defending his clients in high-stakes commercial and securities litigation, nationwide class actions, shareholder derivative suits, breach of fiduciary actions, state securities actions, and government investigations. Mr. Ross has defended his clients through trial in cases involving challenging financial, corporate governance, and damages issues. He has prevailed on dispositive motions, defeated class certification, and successfully won appeals on novel issues of materiality, reliance, and causation under Florida law. Mr. Ross writes frequently on emerging issues in securities and class action litigation, and his analysis has been featured in the Florida Bar Journal, the Journal of Health and Life Sciences Law, Law360, and the Daily Business Review. Ian also serves on the editorial board of the Enhanced Scrutiny blog, where the Sidley team provides timely updates and analysis on M&A and corporate governance matters from the Delaware courts.

Mr. Floyd is a trial lawyer with the firm and is licensed in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Ms. Ramirez is a nationally recognized trial lawyer and litigation strategist. She has served as lead counsel for numerous companies in a variety of industries, including pharmaceutical and medical device, consumer products, sports, and manufacturing. Ms. Ramirez has appeared as lead and/or trial counsel in numerous federal and state courts across the country, and has taken/defended critical fact and expert witness depositions all over the world. She is ranked by Chambers USA in Product Liability & Mass Torts – Nationwide (2023) and Benchmark Litigation as a “Future Star” in Commercial Litigation and Product Liability – Nationwide and Illinois (2024). Ms. Ramirez has also been featured in numerous publications such as Euromoney LMG Life Sciences, Law360, Bloomberg Law, and The Am Law Litigation Daily.
Description
As people more frequently work remotely and move from one state to another, litigants are increasingly faced with witnesses and evidence located outside the state where a case is pending. Obtaining deposition (or trial) testimony from out-of-state, non-party witnesses such as employees of a corporate defendant continues to offer traps for even experienced counsel. Remote depositions or testimony do not solve these issues: they add an extra layer of considerations.
If a case is in state court, attorneys have to account for the variations of each state under the UIDDA and the UFDA or even a non-uniform process. It is not enough to simply compel the testimony--counsel has to be sure that the testimony is actually admissible in the trial court.
Federal Rule 45 applies in federal court and presents complex issues of jurisdiction and enforcement, especially regarding the interplay with Rule 43. Officers, directors, and managing agents must appear for deposition without regard to geographical limits, but the opposing side may be unable to compel attendance at trial.
Listen as this experienced panel discusses compelling a non-party witness to attend a deposition, appear at trial, or produce documents in a foreign state for use in a civil action or arbitration pending in another state and the rules, limits, and best practices for remote depositions and trial testimony
Outline
- Preparing and serving third-party subpoenas
- UIDDA
- UFDA
- Rule 45
- Enforcing the subpoena
- Handling objections
- Ensuring testmony is admissible
- Best practices for remote depositions
- Preparation
- Stipulations
- During questioning
Benefits
The panel will review these and other important issues:
- How do the UIDDA and the UFDA differ?
- What state's law, including law of privilege, applies to compelling out of state witnesses to give deposition or trial testimony?
- Does the 100-mile limitation under Rule 45(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure apply to remote testimony?
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