Opinion ID: 1662813
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Authority of the Trial Court Under Article 1452

Text: Defendants argue that Louisiana C.C.P. 1452 does not authorize a trial court to order a litigant to pay the travel expenses of the attorneys for other parties to take out-of-state depositions. The pertinent part of C.C.P. 1452 reads as follows: After notice is served for taking a deposition by oral examination, upon motion seasonably made by any party or by the person to be examined and upon notice and for good cause shown, the court in which the action is pending may order...; or the court may render any other order which justice requires to protect the party or witness from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression, or undue expense. (Emphasis added). This provision of the Code of Civil Procedure (adopted by Acts 1960, No. 15) was taken from former R.S. 13:3762 with only minor stylistic changes. In turn, former 13:3762 (adopted by Acts 1952, No. 202) was identical to its source, former Rule 30(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See Hubert, The New Louisiana Statute on Depositions and Discovery, 13 La.L.Rev. 173 (1953). In 1970 the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure were amended, and the provisions of Rule 30(b) dealing with protective orders were incorporated into Rule 26(c) so that they would apply to all discovery; there was no substantive change in the scope of the trial court's authority. The pertinent part of Rule 26(c) reads as follows: Upon motion by a party or by the person from whom discovery is sought, and for good cause shown, the court in which the action is pending or alternatively, on matters relating to a deposition, the court in the district where the deposition is to be taken may make any order which justice requires to protect a party or person from annoyance, embarrassment, oppression or undue burden or expense, ... (Emphasis added). Since we obtained these discovery rules from the federal rules, we may look for guidance from the federal decisions which have interpreted identical provisions. The federal courts have consistently held that this rule grants a trial court the authority, on the showing of good cause, to order a party litigant to pay the reasonable expenses of the attorneys for the other parties to attend a deposition. This was the position of the federal jurisprudence prior to 1952 when the subject rule was incorporated into Louisiana law. E. g. Jones v. Pennsylvania Greyhound Lines, Inc., 10 F.R.D. 153 (E.D.Pa.1950); Gibson v. International Freighting Corp., 8 F.R.D. 487 (E.D.Pa.1947), affirmed 173 F.2d 591 (3d Cir. 1949); Stevens v. Minder Construction Corp., 3 F.R.D. 498 (S.D.N.Y.1943). [1] Subsequent decisions of the federal and state courts applying the identical provision and local court rules pursuant to it have confirmed the authority of the trial court. See, e. g., Terry v. Modern Woodmen of America, 57 F.R.D. 141 (W.D.Mo.1972); Meredith v. Gavin, 51 F.R.D. 5 (W.D.Mo. 1970); Haviland & Co. v. Montgomery Ward & Co., 31 F.R.D. 578 (S.D.N.Y. 1962); Ganem v. Greene, 31 F.R.D. 175 (W.D.Pa.1962); Nagle v. U. S. Lines Co., 242 F.Supp. 800 (E.D.Va.1965); Johnston v. Manufacturers & Traders Trust Co., 22 F.R.D. 67 (W.D.N.Y.1956); State v. Mahoney, 103 Ariz. 308, 441 P.2d 68 (1968); Sears v. Doty, Del.Super., 8 Terry 442, 92 A.2d 604 (1952) (enforcement of local rule). See also, 4 Moore's Federal Practice, U 26.41; Wright and Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure: Civil, § 2112 (1970) and Annotation, 70 ALR2d 685 (1960). We concur with the uniform interpretation of the rule in the federal system, and are of the opinion that the clear wording of C.C.P. 1452 authorizes the trial court to grant orders protecting parties from undue expense involved in discovery procedures.