Opinion ID: 1954870
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Waiver Unless Seasonable Objection.

Text: An error or irregularity occurring at the oral examination in the manner of taking the deposition, in the form of the questions or answers, in the oath or affirmation, or in the conduct of parties and an error of any kind which might be obviated, removed, or cured if promptly presented, is waived unless seasonable objection thereto is made at the taking of the deposition. The substance of this deposition objection rule has remained the same, despite several concerns raised in the past. The Court of Appeals Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules Committee or Committee), however, declined to recommend any responsive changes to those concerns. For example, minutes from various Rules Committee meetings relating to Rule 2-415(g) indicate that proposals for modifying the Rule have been considered. The minutes of a January 16, 1987, meeting of the Rules Committee indicate that the Committee was concerned in part with whether the regular deposition rules applied to videotaped depositions and whether the failure to object at the taking of a videotaped deposition constituted a waiver in light of the special videotape provisions that seemed to permit delaying objections until the postdeposition, pretrial hearing. A proposed change considered by the Committee appeared to concern whether the Rule required curable objections to be made at the deposition itself rather than later at the pretrial hearing: Agenda Item 3. Consideration of a policy question regarding Rules 2-416(g) and 2-419(d). Ms. Richards, Chairman of the Discovery Subcommittee presented the policy issue for the Committee's consideration. She informed the Committee that she had received a letter from Henry I. Greenberg, Esquire asking the Committee whether parties attending a videotaped deposition of an expert, intended for use at trial, must make all objections at the deposition as if they were at trial or the objections would be waived. Ms. Richards explained that the letter described a situation where certain objections, not made during the deposition, were raised for the first time before trial. The court allowed the objections relying on Rule 2-419(d) which provides in part that: Subject to Rules 2-412(e), 2-415(g) and (i), 2-416(g), and 2-417(c), an objection may be made at a hearing or trial to receiving in evidence all or part of a deposition for any reason that would require the exclusion of the evidence if the witness were then present and testifying. Minutes of the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, 33 (Jan. 16,1987). After quoting the videotape rule and Rule 2-416(g), there was discussion of when objections should be made under Rule 2-416(g). The minutes reflect that Committee member Mr. Melvin J. Sykes commented that except for curable objections, a party is only required to make objections within a sufficient time before trial so that the court can rule on the objections. He further noted that the court may also allow objections after the trial has begun. Id. at 34 (emphasis added). Mr. Albert D. Brault distinguished curable and noncurable objections, suggesting by implication, as had Mr. Sykes, that curable objections were to be made during the deposition. The minutes reflect the following: Mr. Brault remarked that videotape depositions of out-of-state experts are used as a precautionary measure because trials are often subject to delays. He added further that flexibility in the rule is important, and that the rule should not require non-curable objections to be made during the course of the deposition. Id. at 35 (emphasis added). The Rules Committee decided no change to Rule 2-416(g) was necessary. Additionally, comments on file with the Rules Committee relating to Rule 2-415(g) reflect that the Committee considered certain comments presented by James A. Biddison, Jr. Mr. Biddison suggested Rule 2-415(g) be changed to provide that there would not be a waiver of an objection even if no objection were made during the deposition. He proffered that the practice of requiring objections at depositions in order to preserve them for trial caused depositions to get bogged down and go off on a tangent and are broken up by countless objections. It is not like a situation in Court where you have a Judge to rule on such objections. Comments to the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure on Maryland Rule 2-415(g) (Comment No. 58, James A. Biddison, Jr.) (on file with the Rules Committee). The Rules Committee declined to adopt Mr. Biddison's proposal or recommend it to the Court. The history of Rule 2-415 reveals other instances in which the Rule was reviewed and approved without substantive change. As noted in a 1973 Rules Committee meeting, for example, the Rules Committee considered several suggestions by the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company, including the recommendation that Rule 413 b be amended in an effort to discourage attorneys from objecting during the taking of depositions. Minutes of the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, 3-4 (June 19, 1973). The Committee reasoned that such action would not have the desired effect and therefore voted to [recommend] no change. It was also felt that the matter was covered by Rule 412 c which is a proper place for the subject. Maryland Rule 412 c. 2. contained language similar to the present rule, see supra. See also Minutes of the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 (Sept. 12, 1980) (noting the Rules Committee's approval of former Rule 2-404(j)(3)(B), a predecessor to present Rule 2-415(g), with only an attempt to improve the style and language). Although these comments and minutes clearly are not determinative, they do lend some guidance as to the issues brought to the Rules Committee's attention and its ultimate decision to decline to recommend any such changes to the deposition procedure rule. It is clear that as far back as 1973, the Rules Committee declined to recommend weakening the provisions concerning the waiver of objections at depositions. The Court of Special Appeals, as we have mentioned, examined Rule 2-415(g) and the rules relating to videotaped depositions in Davis v. Goodman, 117 Md.App. at 396-404, 700 A.2d at 806-10, a case with facts strikingly similar to the case before us. [9] That case involved the videotaped deposition of a doctor. During the deposition, plaintiffs' counsel objected to many of the questions asked by opposing counsel, usually stating only objection or objection, move to strike. At trial, plaintiffs' counsel stated that the ground for his objections was that the questions were not in proper form because the doctor was asked to express his opinion, but was not asked whether his opinions were based on a reasonable degree of medical probability. Id. at 397, 700 A.2d at 807. The judge overruled the plaintiffs' objections, stating that to preserve an objection as to the form of a question the objection at deposition must be specific so that opposing counsel would have an opportunity to correct his mistake(s). Id. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed the trial court, holding that in order to preserve a deposition objection to any error or irregularity that might be cured if a timely objection had been made at deposition, the objecting party must state the ground for the objection before the conclusion of the deposition, so that the opposing party will have a chance to cure or obviate the error or irregularity. Id. at 403-04, 700 A.2d at 810. That court gave several reasons for its holding, but most persuasive was the notion that Rule 2-415(g) shows that the reason an objection to a defect [in any question or answer that can be immediately cured] must be made, in a timely fashion, during the deposition is so that the questioner will have an opportunity, during the deposition, to clear up the problem. The drafters of the rules did not wish a litigant to be prejudiced by a slip of the tongue or any other error that could be easily cured. If it were sufficient merely to utter the word objection when some flaw exists in a question or answer, that purpose oft-times would not be fulfilled. For instance, a questioner, even if he or she is a well-trained lawyer, may not know what error or irregularity needs correcting if a specific objection is not made. At deposition, attorneys can, and often do, object to questions for invalid reasons or for no reason at all. Moreover, counsel, although they are not required to do so, often object to questions or answers (e.g., answers containing hearsay) where the error or irregularity could not possibly be corrected even if the problem were brought to the attention of those in attendance at the deposition. Given these well known realities, the interpretation of Maryland Rule 2-415(g) advanced by appellants would allow counsel at deposition to interpose scores of non-specific and frivolous objections and then interpose a valid objection to a defect in a question that could be immediately cured. The barrage of frivolous objections might well cause an opponent to overlook the defect in a question or answer that was immediately curable. Such an interpretation would not fulfill the purpose of the rule and would run afoul of the requirement that the Maryland Rules be interpreted to secure fairness in administration. Id. at 400-01, 700 A.2d at 808-09 (brackets in original). In reaching its holding, the Court of Special Appeals recognized that one of the primary goals of Rule 2-415(g) requiring the objecting party to specify the ground for his or her objection to the curable errors and irregularities described in that rule is to provide the questioner the opportunity to obviate the mistake while the deposition is taking place. Indeed, in all of the previous versions of Rule 2-415(g), the language requiring an objection to be made for any error that might be obviated or removed if objected to at the time of its occurrence remains constant. Implicit in this language is the purpose of making specific objections: to correct the problem at that time. Although the ground for the objection may be obvious to both parties when the objection is made, often it may not or there might be multiple grounds for the objection. For instance, a question may be objectionable in form, such as in the case sub judice, and quickly curable by the questioner rephrasing the question. At the same time, the question also may be irrelevant and not immediately curable and therefore a matter properly to be ruled upon later by the trial court. The questioning counsel may recognize the relevancy problem but not the problem as to form. Had the objecting party simply advised the questioning counsel of the ground of the objection, such as stating, Objection; improper form of questioning a medical expert, the questioning counsel might have cured the defect by rephrasing the question, thus saving valuable time and resources prior to or during trial. Even more important, unless an objector states with some specificity the nature of his objection, rather than mimicking the general language of the rule, i.e., objection to the form of the question, it is impossible to determine, based upon the transcript of the deposition itself, whether the objection was proper when made or merely frivolous. In other words, when addressing the waiver issue, that is, whether the objection would have been curable if it had been properly objected to and the ground stated, the trial judge normally is limited to the ground for the objection made at the point in time when the deposition took place and cannot consider a new reason given some months later at trial. The trial judge's waiver determination depends upon whether, at the time the objection was, or could have been, made, the objectionable matter was curable or noncurable. If the matter was curable and the nonquestioning party either failed to object, or failed to specify the basis of the objection, the matter is waived. If the matter was curable, properly objected to with the ground specified, and not cured during the deposition, the objection is preserved. Therefore, the issue of waiver is frozen at the time of the deposition. In order for the trial judge to determine whether the ground for objection was one which might have been obviated or removed if presented during the deposition, a sufficient foundation for an objection necessarily must have been proffered in order for the trial court to determine later whether the question or irregularity could have been cured at the time of the deposition. Unless specific grounds for objections are proffered at the deposition, the Rule cannot operate as it was intended: to permit at the deposition the curing of objectionable questions or other irregularities. Were we to change the common law and hold that grounds need not be stated at the deposition, the objecting party would be afforded months or years before the trial commences, in which he or she would have an opportunity to think up legitimate grounds for the objection when, at the time it was made, such grounds were not obvious or intended. The requirement that an objecting attorney state the ground or grounds for an objection at a deposition also promotes the policy considerations behind the rules relating to videotaped testimony and videotaped expert witness testimony. In 1980, this Court amended the Maryland Rules to provide for discovery rules specifically governing the taking of depositions by videotape and audiotape recording devices. As discussed, supra, Rule 2-416(g) governs the technicalities for objections during a videotaped deposition and Rule 2-419(a)(4) provides that the videotaped deposition of a physician or any expert witness may be used for any purpose at trial, regardless of that witness' availability. Regarding its recommendations with respect to adopting videotaped deposition rules, the Rules Committee minutes reflect that it strove to promote the use of videotaped depositions in an effort to keep litigation costs to a minimum and for the economy and convenience of the courts, parties, and expert witnesses. For example, one individual expressed an opinion that permitting videotape depositions probably would work to the advantage of less wealthy parties by making experts more available to them, in that an expert would generally be more willing to testify in his office or at some other non-court setting for a modest fee. Furthermore, less of the expert's time would be necessary to acquire his testimony. Minutes of the Court of Appeals Standing Committee on the Rules of Practice and Procedure, 5-6 (Mar. 7 & 8, 1980). In a committee note to former Rule 413, as reflected in the Committee's Minutes, the Rules Committee stated: The Committee believes that considerations of economy and convenience in arranging for medical and expert testimony, coupled with the ability of videotape to convey most of the information and impressions available from in-person testimony, justify the unrestricted use of videotape depositions as a substitute for live testimony from such witnesses. Id. at 12-13. It is clear the drafters of the discovery rules relating to videotaped depositions desired broad use of videotaped depositions in an effort to decrease the cost and time associated with traditional deposition practices. Holding that counsel objecting to certain questions, answers, and otherwise curable irregularities in depositions need not specify the grounds for his or her objections would limit the purpose and goals of the videotaped deposition rules and the discovery rules in general and lead to unnecessary delays and costs. For example, in the case at hand, appellant's counsel objected to the questions asked by appellee's counsel, but failed to specify the ground for his objection except on one occasion. This same bare objection was entered several more times at the deposition, and each time appellee's counsel failed to include the reasonable degree of medical certainty language to his subsequent questions. Appellant only argued to the trial judge that these objections related to form; that is, appellant stated for the first time at the postdeposition, pretrial hearing that appellee's counsel neglected to use language asking for the doctor's opinion within a reasonable degree of medical certainty. The error objected to by appellant is one of form because appellee's counsel did not ask the question using the language, or form, which appellant argues is required to elicit expert opinion. This is the type of objection contemplated under Rule 2-415(g). Had appellant specified the ground for his objection clearly enough so that appellee could have obviated the error, the question might have been corrected while the expert remained available. [S]andbagging an opposing counsel by attempting to defer the issue of the proper form of the question to a point in the process, immediately prior to the trial, when correction is necessary but the witness is not available to answer a new, properly framed question, are tactics contrary to the purposes for which the videotape deposition rules and Rule 2-415(g) were designed to address.