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Rule 30.06 – Certification and Filing by Officer; Exhibits; Copies; Notices of Filing

May 13, 2021 | Civil Procedure, Minnesota

(a) Certification by Officer; Exhibits. The officer shall certify that the witness was duly sworn by the officer and that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the witness, and shall certify that the deposition has been transcribed, that the cost of the original has been charged to the party who noticed the deposition, and that all parties who ordered copies have been charged at the same rate for such copies. This certificate shall be in writing and accompany the record of the deposition. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to by the parties the officer shall securely seal the deposition in an envelope or package endorsed with the title of the action and marked “Deposition of (herein insert the name of witness),” and shall promptly send it to the attorney or party who arranged for the transcript or recording, who shall store it under conditions that will protect it against loss, destruction, tampering, or deterioration. Documents and things produced for inspection during the examination of the witness shall, upon the request of a party, be marked for identification and annexed to the deposition and may be inspected and copied by any party, except that if the person producing the materials desires to retain them, the person may (1) offer copies to be marked for identification and annexed to the deposition and to serve thereafter as originals if the person affords to all parties fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparison with the originals, or (2) offer the originals to be marked for identification after giving each party an opportunity to inspect and copy them, in which event the materials may then be used in the same manner as if annexed to the deposition. Any party may move for an order that the original be annexed to and returned with the deposition pending final disposition of the case.
(b) Duties of Officer. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed by the parties, the officer shall retain stenographic notes of any deposition taken stenographically or a copy of the recording of any deposition taken by another method. Upon payment of reasonable charges therefor, the officer shall furnish a copy of the transcript or other recording of the deposition to any party or to the deponent.
(c) Notice of Receipt of Transcript. The party taking the deposition shall give prompt notice of its receipt from the officer to all other parties.

Minn. R. Civ. P. 30.06

Amended effective January 1, 2006.
Advisory Committee Comments–1996 Amendments
These amendments substantially conform the rule to its federal counterpart. The committee believes it is particularly desirable to have the rules governing the mechanics of taking depositions conform to the federal rules because many depositions are taken for use in parallel state and federal proceedings or in distant locations before reporters who can be expected to know the federal procedures but may not know idiosyncratic Minnesota rules.
Rule 30.04is largely new and includes important provisions governing the conduct of depositions. Most important isRule 30.04(a), which is intended to constrain the conduct of attorneys at depositions. The rule limits deposition objections to concise statements that are directed to the record and not so suggesting a possible answer to the deponent. This rule is intended to set a high standard for conduct of depositions. The problem of deposition misconduct, though probably not as severe as has been noted in some reported cases, is still a frequent and unfortunate part of Minnesota practice. See, e.g., Hall v. Clifton Precision, 150 F.R.D. 525 (E.D. Pa. 1993); Paramount Communications, Inc. v. QVC Network, Inc., 637 A.2d 34, 51-57 (Del. 1994); Kelvey v. Coughlin, 625 A.2d 775 (R.I. 1993).
Rule 30.06is amended to follow its federal counterpart, retaining the existing mechanism for delivering transcripts of depositions to the lawyer or party noticing the deposition rather than filing them with the court. This difference is necessary becauseMinn. R. Civ. P. 5.04does not permit filing discovery in the absence of an order.
Advisory Committee Comment-2006 Amendment
Rule 30.06 is amended only to add subsection titles. This change is made for convenience and consistency with the style of other rules, and is not intended to affect the rule’s interpretation