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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

  • work Practice Area

    Personal Injury and Med Mal

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, October 12, 2021

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$197.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE course will review how to take or defend one of the most important depositions in a personal injury lawsuit: the plaintiff's spouse. The panel will discuss the unique issues concerning privilege, dual representation of plaintiff and spouse, effective cross-examination of a sympathetic witness, preventing the jury from viewing the spouse negatively, and claims of loss of consortium.

Faculty

Geoff Hamby
Trial Attorney/Catastrophic Injury Division
Bailey & Oliver Law Firm

Mr. Hamby's primary roles are depositions, scene inspections, witness interviews, & trial presentation.

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Anita Modak-Truran
Attorney
Butler Snow

Ms. Modak-Truran focuses her practice on representing pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers in mass tort and individual cases pending across the country. For the past decade, she has been responsible for the national coordination of case specific discovery in mass tort actions involving pelvic mesh products. In this work, Ms. Modak-Truran has collaborated with over 150 lawyers from more than twenty-five law firms throughout the country. She has been described by her peers in the litigation as “a high performer who does excellent work that impresses and motivates others to be better.

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Description

Deposing the spouse or partner of the plaintiff is not like deposing any other fact witness. Whether or not a party, the spouse likely has a vested interest in the outcome of the case, which can work for or against the plaintiff. Two privileges arise from the marital relationship. The adverse testimony privilege (spousal immunity) refers to the right of a spouse not to testify against the other spouse and belongs to the spouse called upon to testify. The marital communications privilege belongs to either spouse and bars specified communications between spouses. These privileges are narrowly construed. Federal and state courts have similar but different takes on when and how the privileges apply and the numerous exceptions.

Spouses can have claims of their own and be actual parties to the case, but not always. When the spouse is not a party but is also represented at the deposition by the plaintiff's counsel, additional ethical considerations arise concerning limited representation, possible conflicts of interest, and joint representation arrangements.

Nearly every personal injury to a married plaintiff gives rise to a potential loss-of-consortium claim held by the spouse. Some states recognize this as an independent cause of action, but others see it only as a damages component. Spouses asserting the claim must be prepared for brutal, embarrassing, and even humiliating discovery and "hardball" tactics designed to discourage such claims. Such tactics can backfire before a jury, however.

Listen as this experienced panel of personal injury attorneys reviews best strategies for deposing or defending the examination of a potentially powerful witness.

Outline

  1. Reasons to depose the spouse
  2. Special considerations for dealing with a potentially appealing witness
  3. Marital privileges
  4. Ethical considerations when representing both plaintiff and spouse
  5. Loss of consortium claims

Benefits

The panel will review these and other crucial questions:

  • What type of spousal testimony can be compelled?
  • What topics are covered by the marital privileges, and who can assert them?
  • How can the spouse sabotage the case?
  • What is the scope of relevant questioning if "loss of consortium" is not asserted?
  • How can defense counsel thoroughly cross-examine the spouse without alienating the jury?