Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
How Does Commission to Take Deposition Outside CA Work?
I'm acting as plaintiff in Pro Se in a
Civil Suit and will deposing a
defendant that is out of state. I've
served the defendant with a Notice
of Deposition in his home state and
plan to depose him there, but
someone just told me I should have
filed a Commission to Take
Deposition Outside California. What
exactly is this? What happens if I
didn't/don't file for a Commission?
Can the defendant cause problems at
the deposition?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: How Does Commission to Take Deposition Outside CA Work?
If your defendant has answered your Cal lawsuit, then you don't need a commission and you can proceed with his/her deposition out of state.
Commissions are a form filed with the Cal court routinely granted. The commission submits to the out of state local court in the area where a prospective deponent lives, asking the local court to issue its subpoena to compel a non-party witness to appear locally for deposition. You use the commission process because a Cal subpoena only works in Cal.