Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Vitness refuse to show up for deposition

You need to file a motion to compel. You are not in pro per are you???? Big mistake if you are. Call me directly at (619)222-3504. I have a few pending cases in San Jose and travel there often.

Re: Vitness refuse to show up for deposition

This answer presumes your case is pending in a state court and not a federal court.

An order denying a continuance of the trial is not appealable. To get it reversed you would need to file a petition for a writ of mandate in the Court of Appeal. Writ petitions are usually denied and I can't assess the merits of your position based on these limited facts, but you might have a decent shot at one.

When seeking a writ you can also ask the Court of Appeal to issue an order staying all proceedings in the trial court while the petition is being considered. These requests are also usually denied, but they are granted when the petition seems to have merit and when it appears that allowing the trial court action to proceed will irreparably harm the petitioner.

The appropriate procedure to get these witnesses to show up for their depositions is a motion to compel appearance. There are time limits on this, and depending upon how soon your trial will be there may be other timing problems as well. You might have to make an ex parte application for an order shortening the usual amount of notice of such a motion.

Re: Vitness refuse to show up for deposition

As I am sure you are aware by now, there is a cut-off for discovery. You probably already exceeded that time.

Without further information on your case history it is difficult to assess your best options.

Please contact us via email if you need further assistance.

Re: Vitness refuse to show up for deposition

Generally, discovery is cutoff 30 days before trial. This means the depositions would have had to have occurred before then. Mr. Hoffman's answer takes it from there. Thanks for your question and good luck.