Opinion ID: 2770168
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: analysis

Text: A writ may be granted upon a showing that: (1) the lower court is proceeding or is about to proceed outside of its jurisdiction and there is no remedy through an application to an intermediate court, or (2) the lower court is acting or is about to act erroneously, although within its jurisdiction, and there exists no adequate remedy by appeal or otherwise, and great injustice 2 and irreparable injury will result if the petition is not granted. Hoskins v. Maricle, 150 S.W.3d 1, 10 (Ky. 2004). Consol agrees that oversee[ing] discovery issues in a pending case is within the subject matter jurisdiction of the trial court, so Consol is invoking the second class of writs identified in Hoskins: the trial court is acting or is about to act erroneously, and great injustice and irreparable injury will occur if the writ is not issued. The fundamental problem with Consol's request for writ relief is that the trial court has not ordered Consol, or its CFO, to do anything and there is no indication in the record that the trial court is about to order Consol or the CFO to do anything. The trial court is not acting or [] about to act erroneously because the only ruling the trial court has made with respect to the noticed deposition is to deny a protective order. The notice of deposition given by the Plaintiffs in this case is not a court order, and since he was not subpoenaed, the power of the court has not been invoked to compel his appearance. The trial court's denial of the protective order is not an order compelling Consol to produce the CFO for a deposition in Kentucky. The trial court's protective order does not compel or direct Consol to do anything; and the pending notice of deposition, unaccompanied by the service of a subpoena, cannot force the non-resident witness into Kentucky for a deposition. The Knott Circuit Court has not commanded the proposed deponent to appear in Kentucky for a deposition, and it is not about to impose sanctions upon him for not appearing. Unless and until it does, it is not acting or about to act in a 3 manner that exposes Consol or the witness to any harm at all, much less great