Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: deposition

Your deposition or that of a party or non-party in the case? If it's your deposition, then missing it intentionally could, at the option of the other party (and approval of the court), lead to sanctions, including striking of your pleadings.

If it's not your deposition, then you are not required to be there.

Re: deposition

If the party incurred attorney's fees to bring a motion to compel you to attend, the court would most likely order you to pay those fees as a sanction. If you are party to the lawsuit, the court could issue evidentiary sanctions or even terminating sanctions (i.e. dismissing your cases or striking your answer). A non-party that disobeys a deposition subpoena could be held in contempt of court.

The bottom line is that it is an EXTREMELY bad idea to ignore a properly served notice of deposition.

Re: deposition

The other party will most likely ask the court to compel your appearance at another time, and the court will agree. You will probably be ordered to reimburse the other side for the atorney fees and costs incurred to get that order court order. Additionally, you will probably have to pay for the court reporter and transcript from your missed depo, and to reimburse *each* of the other parties for the legal fees and costs they incurred in connection with your non-appearance. This will add up to a *lot* of money, especially if this is a multi-party case.

If you are a non-party witness and have been subpoenaed you can be held in contempt for failing to appear; the penalty for such contempt will probably be a heavy a fine (in addition to the sums I've already mentioned).

If you are a party and you then disobey the order compelling you to appear at another time, your pleadings may be stricken and judgment may be entered against you as a sanction. In addition, you can be held in contempt and hit with a fine or even jail time.