Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02519/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02519-2/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 470
Nature of Suit: Civil (Rico)
Cause of Action: 

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

ART COHEN,

Plaintiff,

v.

DONALD J. TRUMP,

Defendant. 

 

 

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Civil No. 13-CV-2519-GPC (WVG)

ORDER FOLLOWING

TELEPHONIC DISCOVERY

CONFERENCE

I. BACKGROUND

On April 14, 2015, this Court held a telephonic Discovery Conference with counsel

for both parties. The parties sought the Court’s guidance during a deposition as to whether

Defendant’s objections were proper. Plaintiff argued that Defendant was making speaking

objections. Plaintiff expressed concern that Defense counsel was coaching the witness and

obstructing Plaintiff’s ability to obtain an accurate response from the witness. During the

Discovery Conference, Plaintiff cited a case called Doe v. City of San Diego, 2013 WL

6577065 (S.D. Cal. Dec. 13, 2013) to support his position that Defendant’s objections were

improper. 

Defense counsel argued that his objections were appropriate, as all objections were

based on proper grounds such as lack of foundation, relevance, misstates testimony, and

other similar objections. Defense counsel argued that he was not coaching the witness, but

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rather, was trying to make sure that the witness understood the questions being asked. He

explained that he was not making two or three sentence objections.

II. RELEVANT LAW

During a deposition an attorney may properly state objections “concisely in a

nonargumentative and nonsuggestive manner.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 30(c)(2). As a general rule,

“instructions not to answer questions at a deposition are improper.” Detoy v. City & Cnty.

of San Francisco, 196 F.R.D. 362, 365 (N.D. Cal. 2000). “A person may instruct a deponent

not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation ordered

by the court, or to present a motion under Rule 30(d)(3).” Fed.R.Civ.P. 30(c)(2) (emphasis

added). “If a party believes that a particular question asked of a deponent is improper for

any other reason, that party may object; however, ‘the examination still proceeds; the

testimony is taken subject to any objection.’” Mendez v. R+L Carriers, Inc., 2012 WL

1535756, at *1 (N.D. Cal. Apr. 30, 2012) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 30(c)(2).)

Under Rule 30(d)(3), “[a]t any time during a deposition, the deponent or a party may

move to terminate or limit it on the ground that it is being conducted in bad faith or in a

manner that unreasonably annoys, embarrasses, or oppresses the deponent or party...If the

objecting deponent or party so demands, the deposition must be suspended for the time

necessary to obtain an order.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 30(d)(3)(A).

III. COURT DISCUSSION

A. DEFENDANT’S OBJECTIONS WERE PROPER

During the Discovery Conference, the Court read the case cited by Plaintiff, Doe v.

City of San Diego, a case from this judicial district. Doe v. City of San Diego, 2013 WL

6577065. In Doe, counsel instructed one witness not to answer no fewer than twenty-eight

times. Id. at 5. Counsel’s instructions not to answer were preceded by various objections,

including that the question at issue had been asked and answered, invaded the privacy rights

of the witness and/or other non-parties, exceeded the scope of the deposition and/or lacked

relevance, lacked foundation, sought personnel information and official information from

the police department, assumed facts, and misstated the prior testimony of the witness. Id.

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The Doe court found that most of counsel’s objections did not provide adequate

grounds for his instructions to the witness not to answer. Doe v. City of San Diego, 2013

WL 6577065, at *5. The court stated that an attorney can instruct “a deponent not to answer

only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation ordered by the court, or

to present a motion under Rule 30(d)(3).” Id; citing Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(c) (2). Therefore, the

court found that counsel’s objections that questions had been asked and answered, exceeded

the scope of the deposition, lacked relevance, assumed facts, and misstated the prior

testimony of the witness, were improper grounds for instructing the witness not to answer. 

Id; see Jadwin v. Abraham, 2008 WL 4057921, at *5 (E.D.Cal. Aug. 22, 2008) (“[A]n

objection that the question might have been repetitive was not a proper basis to instruct the

witness not to answer it.”).

Here, the Court determined that the Doe case did not provide support for Plaintiff’s

argument that Defendant’s objections were improper. During the Discovery Conference, the

Court noted that in Doe, the objections were improper because they were followed by

instructions to the witness not to answer the question. The objections themselves were not

improper. The Court distinguished the Doe case from the instant situation because here,

Plaintiff did not argue that Defendant was instructing the witness not to answer. Rather,

Plaintiff’s dispute was with the form of Defendant’s objections. 

After distinguishing the Doe case upon which Plaintiff relied, the Court determined

that Defendant’s objections were proper. The Court noted that, if Defense counsel attempted

to telegraph an answer to the witness through objections, such objections would be entirely

improper. However, it did not appear that Defense counsel was using his objections to

telegraph answers to the witness. Further, Defendant was not asserting objections on the

basis of relevance or misstates testimony, and subsequently instructing the witness not to

answer.

B. PRIOR COURT ORDERS

During the Conference, the Court directed the parties’ attention to a March 27, 2015,

Court Order in this case, notifying the parties that sanctions may be imposed for involving

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the Court in another phantom and basic dispute. (Doc. No. 64 at 2.) The Court noted that

there was not consistency throughout the district courts regarding whether form objections

were proper, and thus, this was not an issue that the Court needed to resolve for the parties.1/

The Court explained that the parties should have recognized there are divergent viewpoints

throughout the district courts, and resolved the issue on their own without pausing the

deposition and contacting the Court for guidance. 

During the Conference, the Court also discussed its November 20, 2014, Scheduling

Order, which stated, “...if the depositions in this action are conducted properly and met with

unnecessary objections, the Court may issue an Order expanding the number of depositions.” 

(Doc. No. 58 at 2.) The parties were once again placed on notice that if either side finds it

necessary to involve the Court yet again in the resolution of a phantom and basic dispute, the

parties should expect the Court to seriously consider imposing sanctions. 

IV. COURT RULING

At the conclusion of the Conference, the Court ordered Defendant to assert clear and

succinct objections. The Court noted that anything more than a clear and concise objection 

may be considered a speaking objection, which is improper and prohibited. The Court also

told Defendant that Plaintiff was entitled to ask the witness about documents, and therefore,

Defendant should not object on the basis that the documents speak for themselves. 

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For example, a district court in the Northern District of Iowa stated that attorneys are required, not just permitted, to state the basis for their objections. Sec. Nat’l Bank of Sioux City v. Abbott Labs., 299 F.R.D. 595, 602 (N.D. Iowa 2014). However, the court recognized that not all courts share the same views regarding form objections, as “some courts explicitly require lawyers to state nothing more than unspecified ‘form’ objections during depositions.” Id. at 603 (emphasis in original). 

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The Court recognized that, if either party acts contrary to the Court’s guidance, one

side will undoubtedly inform the Court. The Court warned that it was prepared to impose

harsh sanctions if it determined that either party was acting contrary to its guidance. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: May 19, 2015

 Hon. William V. Gallo

 U.S. Magistrate Judge

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