Ohio Administrative Code › Title 4906 - Power Siting Board › Chapter 4906-2 - Procedure in Cases before the Board › Section 4906-2-18 - Depositions

Current through all regulations passed and filed through July 1, 2024
(A)
								 Any party to a board proceeding may take the testimony
			 of any other party or person, other than a member of the board staff, by
			 deposition upon oral examination with respect to any matter within the scope of
			 discovery set forth in rule
			 4906-2-14
			 of the Administrative Code. The attendance of witnesses and production of
			 documents may be compelled by subpoena as provided in rule
			 4906-2-23 of the
			 Administrative Code.
(B)
								 Any party desiring to take the deposition of any
			 person upon oral examination shall give reasonable notice in writing to the
			 deponent, to all parties, and to the board. The notice shall state the time and
			 place for taking the deposition and the name and address of each person to be
			 examined, if known, or if the name is not known, a general description
			 sufficient for identification. If a subpoena duces tecum is to be served upon
			 the person to be examined, a designation of the materials to be produced
			 thereunder shall be attached to or included in the notice.
(C)
								 If any party
			 shows that he or she was unable with the exercise of due diligence to obtain
			 counsel to represent him or her at the taking of a deposition, the deposition
			 may not be used against such party.
(D)
								 The board or the
			 administrative law judge may, upon motion, order that a deposition be recorded
			 by other than stenographic means, in which case the order shall designate the
			 manner of recording the deposition, and may include provisions to assure that
			 the recorded testimony will be accurate and trustworthy. If such an order is
			 made, any party may arrange to have a stenographic transcription made at his or
			 her own expense.
(E)
								 A party may, in the notice and in a subpoena, name a
			 corporation, partnership, association, government agency, or municipal
			 corporation and designate with reasonable particularity the matters on which
			 examination is requested. The organization so named shall choose one or more of
			 its officers, agents, employees, or other persons duly authorized to testify on
			 its behalf, and shall set forth, for each person designated, the matters on
			 which he or she will testify. The persons so designated shall testify as to
			 matters known or reasonably available to the organization.
(F)
								 Depositions may
			 be taken before any person authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the
			 jurisdiction in which the deposition is taken, or before any person appointed
			 by the board or the administrative law judge. Unless all of the parties
			 expressly agree otherwise, no deposition shall be taken before any person who
			 is a relative, employee, or attorney of any party, or a relative or employee of
			 such attorney.
(G)
								 The person before whom the deposition is to be taken
			 shall put the witness on oath or affirmation, and shall personally, or by
			 someone acting under his or her direction and in his or her presence, record
			 the testimony of the witness. Examination and cross-examination may proceed as
			 permitted in board hearings. The testimony shall be recorded stenographically
			 or by any other means ordered under paragraph (D) of this rule. If requested by
			 any of the parties, the testimony shall be transcribed at the expense of the
			 party making the request.
(H)
								 All objections made at the time of the examination to
			 the qualifications of the officer taking the deposition, or to the manner of
			 taking it, or to the evidence presented, or to the conduct of any party, and
			 any other objection to the proceedings shall be noted by the officer upon the
			 deposition. Evidence objected to shall be taken subject to the objections. In
			 lieu of participating in the oral examination, parties may serve written
			 questions in a sealed envelope upon the party taking the deposition, who shall
			 transmit them to the officer, who in turn shall propound them to the witness
			 and record the answers verbatim.
(I)
								 At any time
			 during the taking of a deposition, the board or the administrative law judge
			 may, upon motion of any party or the deponent and upon a showing that the
			 examination is being conducted in bad faith or in such a manner as to
			 unreasonably annoy, embarrass, or oppress the deponent or party, order the
			 person conducting the examination to cease taking the deposition, or may limit
			 the scope and manner of taking the deposition as provided in rule
			 4906-2-21
			 of the Administrative Code. Upon demand of the objecting party or deponent, the
			 taking of the depositions shall be suspended for the time necessary to make a
			 motion for such an order.
(J)
								 If and when the testimony is fully transcribed, the
			 deposition shall be submitted to the witness for examination and shall be read
			 to or by him or her, unless such examination and reading are expressly waived
			 by the witness and the parties. Any changes in form or substance which the
			 witness desires to make shall be entered upon the deposition by the officer
			 with a statement of the reasons given by the witness for making the changes.
			 The deposition shall then be signed by the witness unless the signing is
			 expressly waived by the parties or the witness is ill or cannot be found or
			 refuses to sign. If the deposition is not signed by the witness within ten days
			 after its submission to him or her, the officer shall sign it and state on the
			 record the fact of the waiver or the illness or absence of the witness, or the
			 fact of the refusal to sign together with the reason, if any, given for such
			 refusal. The deposition may then be used as fully as though signed, unless the
			 administrative law judge upon motion to suppress, holds that the reasons given
			 for the refusal to sign require rejection of the deposition in whole or in
			 part.
(K)
								 The officer shall certify on the deposition that the
			 witness was duly sworn by him or her and that the deposition is a true record
			 of the testimony given by the witness. Upon payment of reasonable charges
			 therefor, the officer shall furnish a copy of the deposition to any party or to
			 the deponent.
(L)
								 Documents and things produced for inspection during
			 the examination of the witness shall, upon request of any party, be marked for
			 identification and annexed to the deposition, except that:
(1)
									 The person
			 producing the materials may substitute copies to be marked for identification,
			 if all parties are afforded a fair opportunity to verify the copies by
			 comparison with the originals.
(2)
									 If the person
			 producing the materials requests their return, the officer shall mark them,
			 give each party an opportunity to inspect and copy them, and return them to the
			 person producing them, and the materials may then be used in the same manner as
			 if annexed to deposition.