Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: dipostion notice

Fax the letter to your insurance company and it will tell you what to do. Talk to your insurance agent. I'm not sure why they would want to take a deposition if they're settling.

Re: dipostion notice

Who is the "other party" suing? If you are the defendant, did you notify your insurance company of the lawsuit? Did you send it the summons and complaint when you were first served? If you did these things it should have already assigned you a lawyer and begun defending you -- in which case the other side would be sending these notices to your lawyer rather than to you.

Assuming that you're the defendant, I'm not sure why you think the other side has agreed to a settlement. Their interest in deposing you suggests that they have not, and your statement that you have no assets and don't know whether to even be concerned about the lawsuit suggests you haven't offered them anything. They may have agreed to settle with another defendant, but if that is the case you may still be on the hook.

It is possible that someone else (a mechanic, perhaps, or the manufacturer) is the defendant and that you are being deposed solely as a witness. Whether you need to worry about becoming a defendant in the future depends upon many details which you haven't provided. But either way you need to show up.

If the designated time is inconvenient for you they will probably agree to reschedule, but simply not showing up is a very bad idea. Whether you are a defendant or a third-party witness, you risk being ordered to pay all of the expenses (inlcuding attorney fees) that were spent on the depo you missed. Such costs can add up to several thousand dollars, especially if there are multiple defendants. If you are a party you also risk being sanctioned by the court and potentially defaulting your case.

Tell your insurance company about the notice you have received immediately. They will help you figure out what is going on.