McKinley Infuser, Inc. v. Zdeb

200 F.R.D. 648, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13873, 2001 WL 705680
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedJune 7, 2001
DocketCIV.A. No. 99-S-1178
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 200 F.R.D. 648 (McKinley Infuser, Inc. v. Zdeb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McKinley Infuser, Inc. v. Zdeb, 200 F.R.D. 648, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13873, 2001 WL 705680 (D. Colo. 2001).

Opinion

[649]*649ORDER

BOLAND, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before me on the plaintiffs’ Amended Verified Motion for Protective Order (the “Amended Motion for Protective Order”), filed May 24, 2001.1 The Amended Motion for Protective Order requests that I enter an order either prohibiting the defendants from questioning Brian Zdeb or imposing as conditions to such questioning the following restrictions:

1. That no transcript of Mr. Zdeb’s deposition by plaintiffs counsel be issued until after the defendants question him;

2. That Mr. Zdeb’s counsel be prohibited from “coaching” Mr. Zdeb “in any way;”

3. That any documents reviewed by Mr. Zdeb in anticipation of questioning by the defendants be provided to the plaintiffs prior to or at the beginning of that questioning;

4. That plaintiffs’ counsel be permitted “to inquire about the details of the deposition preparation engaged in by Mr. Zdeb with his counsel in preparation for” the questioning by the defendants;

5. That Mr. Zdeb’s counsel be required to certify in writing that they have not reviewed previous deposition questions and answers with Mr. Zdeb or otherwise coached him for the questioning by the defendants; and

6. That Mr. Zdeb pay all costs associated with the questioning by the defendants, including travel costs.

The Amended Motion for Protective Order is DENIED.

The plaintiffs have deposed Mr. Zdeb for four days, the most recent session being held on May 17-18, 2001. During that examination, defense counsel indicated an intention to question Mr. Zdeb (one of his clients) at the conclusion of the plaintiffs’ questioning. The plaintiffs finished their examination at 5:25 p.m. on May 18, 2001. Defendants’ counsel declined to begin his examination at that time, and the parties have agreed to resume Mr. Zdeb’s deposition, for the purpose of questioning by defense counsel, on June 12, 2001.

The plaintiffs argue that the defendants should not be allowed to question Mr. Zdeb at all, stating:

Zdeb and his counsel are likely concerned that unless Zdeb’s deposition is altered or reframed, summary judgment may be entered. If the concern is merely that there are mistakes in the transcript, Mr. Zdeb may correct them with the use of the errata sheets. Zdeb’s counsel has ordered a transcript of the May 17 and 18 questioning, thus underscoring the fear that Zdeb will be coached regarding certain questions. Allowing Zdeb’s counsel to depose his own client for nearly a day almost a month after opposing counsel concluded her questioning subverts the truth finding purpose of the discovery process.

Amended Motion for Protective Order, at pp. 8-9. In addition, the plaintiffs rely primarily on Hall v. Clifton Precision, 150 F.R.D. 525 (E.D.Pa.1993), in support of the Amended Motion. The court in Hall imposed a number of restrictions on the deponent and his lawyer, including a restriction that “[cjounsel and their witness-clients shall not engage in private, off-the-record conferences during depositions or during breaks or recesses, except for the purpose of deciding whether to assert a privilege.” The court articulated its rationale for the restrictions as follows:

The underlying purpose of a deposition is to find out what a witness saw, heard, or did — what the witness thinks. A deposition is meant to be a question-and-answer conversation between the deposing lawyer and the witness. There is no proper need for the witness’s own lawyer to act as an intermediary, interpreting questions, deciding which questions the witness should answer, and helping the witness to formulate answers. The witness comes to the deposition to testify, not to indulge in a parody of Charlie McCarthy, with lawyers coaching or bending the witness’s words to mold a legally convenient record. It is the [650]*650witness — not the lawyer — who is the witness. As an advocate, the lawyer is free to frame those facts in a manner favorable to the client, and also to make favorable arguments of law. But the lawyer is not entitled to be creative with the facts.

Id. at 528 (footnotes omitted).

The Hall case has met with substantial, and I believe justified, criticism. Most notably, in In re Stratosphere Corp. Securities Litigation, 182 F.R.D. 614, 621 (D.Nev.1998), the court rejected the approach taken in Hall, finding that “Hall goes too far in its solution.” The Stratosphere court took a different approach, imposing the following limitations:

When there is a question pending neither the deponent nor his or her counsel may initiate the interruption of the proceeding to confer about the- question, the answer, or about any document that is being examined, except to assert a claim of privilege (conform to a court order or seek a protective order). If the deponent does not understand the question, or the meaning of a word or phrase, or even if the deponent has a question about a document, he or she should ask the questioning attorney. (
* * * * * *
The right to prepare a witness [which the Hall court recognized] is not different be-, fore the questions begin than it is during (or after, since a witness may be recalled for rebuttal, etc., during trial). What this Court, and the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure seek to prevent is coaching the witness by telling the witness what to say or how to answer a specific question.

Id. Accord Odone v. Croda Int’l PLC, 170 F.R.D. 66, 68 (D.D.C.1997)(distinguishing Hall because the consultation between lawyer and witness took place after the questioning by opposing counsel and before the questioning by the witness’ own lawyer, and refusing to apply the “litany of deposition restrictions and prohibitions it outlines”); State v. King, 205 W.Va. 708, 520 S.E.2d 875, 881 (1999)(holding that “the approach taken in Stratosphere is the more logical and fan-approach. An attorney should be able to ensure that his or her client did not misunderstand or misinterpret a question or a document”).

The approach taken in In re Stratosphere is consistent with the local rules of this district. Rule 30.1C, D.C.COLO.LR, states in relevant part:

A. The following abusive deposition conduct is prohibited:
1. Objections or statements which have the effect of coaching the witness, instructing the witness concerning the way in which he or she should frame a response, or suggesting an answer to the witness.
2. Interrupting examination for an off-the-record conference between counsel and the witness, except for the purpose of determining whether to assert a privilege. Any off-the-record conference during a recess may be a subject for inquiry by opposing counsel, to the extent it is not privileged.

The relief requested by the plaintiffs here is particularly inappropriate. It would have the effect of barring Mr. Zdeb from conferring with his counsel for the entire period between the sessions of his deposition, in this case several weeks.

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Bluebook (online)
200 F.R.D. 648, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13873, 2001 WL 705680, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mckinley-infuser-inc-v-zdeb-cod-2001.