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Timestamp: 2013-05-19 21:21:35
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Matched Legal Cases: ['§472', '§473', '§473', '§473', '§473', '§473', '§473', '§473', '§473', '§482']

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Auto accidents, premises liability, medical malpractice, product liability, residential mold, land use, and damages.
To this point, your preparation has included a review of the pleadings and applicable law, a review of prior discovery, both formal and informal, and discussions with your client and cooperative witnesses. You are now in a position to prepare your inquiry. There is no single approach to preparing an examination. Depending upon your nature, style and experience, your approach will vary. Some lawyers carefully write out many of their questions and others write little or nothing at all. Most will at least outline subject areas to cover in the examination. Experience shows that notes are crucial for the beginning examiner, if not for every examiner. Here are a few generalizations about your preparation of notes for a deposition: first, your notes should help you organize your thoughts and provide a checklist for your questions. Do not write out your questions unless the deposition or the wording of a particular question is critical. Second, do not become tied to your notes. Too often, an inexperienced examiner fails to hear what the witness has said and fails to ask follow-up questions. Third, use your notes to provide you with additional security, so that you will feel free to take detours as new possibilities arise during your examination. Knowing that you have a checklist of points which must be covered frees you to focus your attention on the witness and to take advantage of unexpected testimony. You can return to your notes when you exhaust a particular avenue of questioning. §472 Order of the Deposition Proceedings
Generally, the deposition process occurs as follows: Notice of deposition is provided to the reporter so that he will have the caption of the case for the transcript, and the identity of the lawyers for the parties. Exhibits are given to the reporter for marking, if exhibits are going to be marked in advance rather than as used. The reporter swears in the witness. If the deposition is taken pursuant to a court order, the order may be marked as an exhibit and made part of the record. Similarly, some lawyers like the notice of deposition or subpoena marked and made a part of the record. Any stipulations concerning the deposition that have been agreed upon by the parties are stated for the record. Discussion of proposed stipulations normally should be off the record. At last, the examination can begin. A deposition, in most instances, is not a rigidly defined procedure—and you should not allow it to become rigid. As earlier discussed, notes are not a road map, but rather a checklist. Nevertheless, you should have a pre-defined organization for the deposition, subject to being continuously redefined and reorganized throughout the deposition. The most common organization of questions for a deposition are: Chronological—examination of the witness in chronological order of events and occurrences. Subject matter—examination of the witness as to each relevant subject matter. Within each subject matter, the organization is usually chronological. Allegations of the complaint—some examiners representing defendants like to approach depositions in terms of the complaint—exhaust the knowledge of the witness concerning each allegation, in order thereof.
Documents—Some depositions can be effectively organized by the documents. Documents in turn can be organized chronologically; by plaintiff, defendant or witness file, or by subject matter. Persons—Some depositions lend themselves to organization by person—question the witness as to relevant knowledge or activities of each person involved in the subject matter. Of course, some examiners prefer a disorganized approach, with the hope that the witness will not be able to anticipate where the questions are going or what his prior answers were. Again, the primary importance of organization is: (1) to create a clear deposition, in case you need to use it at trial; and (2) to cover everything that you desire to cover. §473 Sample Outlines: Checklist
For substantive areas of the examination, your outline will have to fit the facts of your case. The level of specificity or detail required will depend upon many factors including your own experience, personal preferences and the complexity of the case. Sample outlines for examinations on a few very select topics follow. Obviously, these examples are not meant to be exhaustive either in detail or in subject area. They do, however, illustrate the type of organization and comprehensiveness with which you should approach all depositions. You will have to break down the major subject areas above even further, depending upon the facts of a given case. For example, in a breach of contract action, one meeting may be of critical importance. That one meeting may warrant a detailed examination and, therefore, a detailed checklist in your outline, such as: A. Where held
Often, you will be involved in cases in which your outline or checklist must include elements of the case. Certain cases, such as trade secret appropriation, RICO, defamation, or interference with contract, have distinct and technical legal requirements which must be proven or disproven and must, therefore, be covered in the depositions. If you do not fully explore the legal requirements for such cases in the salient depositions, you will neither be able to withstand nor support any dispositive pretrial motions. In those cases, you must weave into your outline not only the facts and documents, but also the legal issues. For example, in a case involving inducement of breach of contract, you will not only want to fully explore all of the facts and documents giving rise to the dispute, but you will want to cover the following legal points in your deposition: The admission or proof of the preexistence of a valid contract; Defendant’s knowledge of or assumption of the existence of a valid contract; Defendant’s intention to induce a breach of contract; Defendant’s knowledge of contract breach; Defendant’s causal connection with contract’s breach.
— clear — foggy, snowy, rainy
Ownership — registration
— location — cost
§473.2 Outline for Deposing the Defendant—Automobile Case
Braking — when first applied before impact
§473.3 Outline for Deposing Eyewitness—Automotive Liability Case
— distances — traffic controls
— direction of travel — lane of travel
Injuries observed — who? — what physical signs of injury were observed?
§473.4 Outline for Deposing Plaintiff—Premises Liability Case
Impairments — Any medications ingested that day or within 24 hours—describe medications
— Any physical limitations to walking—limp, use a cane, etc. IV. Slip, Trip or Fall Event
— Did you see condition that caused your fall before it happened? • If yes, did you have time to avoid condition? • If no, why were you not able to see?
— Was walking surface damaged or in disrepair? If yes, describe, i.e. hole, crack, loose stair. Measurements, i.e. depth, size etc. — Was there any natural accumulation of snow, ice or water overlying defective condition? Describe location of condition
§473.5 Outline for Deposing Defendant Owner or Occupier—Premises Liability Case
• establish that landlord or tenant has responsibility for area under lease or custom and practice Post-occurrence repairs or changes
— generally describe defect — have witness acknowledge that he understands nature of defect complained of
— Were you aware that alleged defect existed before plaintiff’s injury? If yes,
§473.6 Outline for Deposing Defendant City’s Superintendent of Streets—Premises Liability Case
— Dept. of Sanitation — Dept. of Traffic Control Maintenance
— City policies for employees reporting observed defects — when last inspected before occurrence
— medical literature and texts consulted or relied upon for Teaching and academic appointments
— explain when in course of visit physician made such absent findings Does record refresh physician’s memory of any conversation with plaintiff that is not recorded as history or complaint?
— at time of visit was it the physician’s practice to accurately record history taken and physical examination made Does the physician rely on the written record to conclude that the plaintiff failed to tell him a sign or symptom or accurate history?
Formed any opinions about the plaintiff’s outcome based on records? — state each opinion
— to whom spoke — the reason for consulting
Were any tests results relied upon to rule out a differential diagnosis — if yes, identify each result
— explain basis to rule out Were any tests ordered not available to you when diagnosed or treated plaintiff
Confront physician with any medical literature applicable that disagrees with his opinion of the diagnosis or the standard of care XVII. Causation
§473.8 Outline for Deposing the Defendant’s Design Engineer—
— responsibility in position — length of time
— complaints — warranty claims
— safety committee reports — accident studies
— governmental codes applicable — industry recommended practices
Design available to prevent or minimize hazard — devices
Design change implemented — date adopted
§473.9 Outline for Deposing Plaintiff—Tenant in Residential Mold Case I. Deposition Objectives
— Did you have any professionals or experts examine the mold? Did they tell you what they thought it was? What they thought caused it? What kinds of risks it posed to humans? — Was anyone else exposed to the alleged mold? Any one else experience symptoms you believe were caused by the mold exposure?
— What did the landlord do when you notified it of the mold in your apartment? — Did the landlord offer to move you to a different apartment?
— Describe the medical symptoms that you experienced that you attribute to mold exposure. — When was the first time you experienced any of these syptoms?
— Describe how your symptoms or medical protocols have changed since vacating the residence. — Have you been diagnosed with any additional chronic health problems or allergies since vacating the residence?
— diabetes, heart disease, cancer, etc. Did any of your prior injuries or accidents involve same or similar body part?
— describe sports, i.e. golf, basketball, etc. — frequency of play
— describe accomplishments with hobbies, i.e. restored antique automobile Miscellaneous activities before sustaining injuries?
— have your new injuries interfered with your hobbies or activities Have you suffered from an illness since date of occurrence?
— loss of income due to illness §482 Outline for Deposing Treating Physician
— research performed Teaching and Academic Appointments
— medical devices prescribed — surgical procedures recommended
(7) Where do you live? Please locate on Zoning Map, mark with an “H” for “home,” and initial. a. Do you own or rent your residence? Do you live with anyone else?
(12) Have you ever measured the distance you live from the proposed development? Estimate? How long does it take you to walk there from your home? (13) Are you an abutter to the proposed development? Are you an abutter to an abutter to the proposed development?
(34) I want to ask you about your involvement in development and housing issues in the community. What organizations do you belong to whose mission relates at all to development, housing, or traffic issues in the community? (35) How many members? Mission? Your position? Who does it purport to represent? Decision-making process? Has it taken a position on the proposed development?
(36) What public bodies have you appeared before relating to development, housing, or traffic issues in the municipality? Have you appeared before local planning boards? (37) What letters have you written to any public official in the past year on development/permitting issues?
c. Do you know how the other named plaintiffs joined? d. What conversations have you had with the other named plaintiffs about the proposed project?
(45) What is your understanding as to what is allowed by the zoning decision you are appealing? What did you do to make that investigation? (46) In what ways did you participate in the process leading up to the Planning Board decision that you are challenging? Attend any of the hearings?
(48) Putting the Planning Board Decision aside, do you know what could be developed at the locus as of right now, in other words, without permission from the Planning Board under the applicable zoning laws? (49) Have you studied the proposed design?
(2) Please identify all real property for which you have held an option to purchase or right of first refusal for the past three years. (3) Please identify all real property held in trust for which you have been the trustee or beneficiary for the past three years. (4) For each such property identified, identify any mortgages, liens, or other encumbrances thereon.
(5) Have you filed a declaration of homestead or similar filing with the registry of deeds for any of those properties? (6) Please identify all boats, automobiles, motorcycles, or other passenger vehicle you have owned over the past three years.
(7) Identify your investments, including stocks, mutual funds, bonds, bond funds, options, or other securities or negotiable instruments you own. Current value? Where held? (8) If you have sold any investments in the past three years, what did you sell, how much did you realize, and what did you do with the proceeds?
(9) In the past three years, have you worked with any investment advisors, money or asset managers, or stock or investment brokers? (10) If so, who? With whom are they affiliated? Where are they located? What are their fees?
(13) Are you the beneficiary of any trusts? (14) How much have you paid in taxes the past three years? Income? Capital gains? Property? Excise? Federal vs. state vs. municipal?
(2) With whom? In what amounts? (3) Who are the beneficiaries? (4) What claims have you made on any insurance policies the past three years? Have you made a claim on any insurance policy in connection with this case? (5) Did you provide notice to any insurance carriers in connection with this case? (6) Did you send a copy of the Complaint to any insurance carrier?
(3) What home mortgages do you have? (4) Car loans?