Also known as: Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30 · Fed. R. Civ. P. 30 · Rule 30 · FRCP Rule 30
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A federal procedural rule that authorizes a party to depose any person by oral questions without leave of court except as provided in Rule 30(a)(2). The deponent's attendance may be compelled by subpoena under Rule 45.
Fatima Flores sued Freeman Engineering alleging defective product design. Her counsel served a Rule 30(b)(1) notice of oral deposition on a retired nonparty engineer who had worked on the prototype and issued a subpoena for her attendance at a location in the forum district. No facts triggered any exception under Rule 30(a)(2). The notice allowed the deposition to proceed without prior court approval.
In litigation over a maritime accident, counsel for the shipowner prepared written statements from crew members in anticipation of suit. When opposing counsel noticed their depositions under the rule and sought production of those statements, the court recognized that the statements remained protected unless the requesting party showed substantial need and undue hardship.
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Leave is required when the deposition would exceed ten total depositions by the plaintiffs or defendants, when the deponent has already been deposed in the case, when the deposition is sought before the time specified in Rule 26(d) without the required certification, or when the deponent is confined in prison. The court grants leave consistent with the proportionality limits in Rule 26(b)(1) and (2).
Supporting sources
Yes. The rule expressly authorizes a party to depose any person, including a nonparty, by oral questions without leave unless one of the enumerated exceptions in Rule 30(a)(2) applies. A subpoena under Rule 45 may be used to compel attendance, and any geographic or enforcement issues are addressed separately through protective-order motions rather than as a prerequisite to the notice itself.
Supporting sources
The notice must state the time and place of the deposition and identify the deponent by name and address if known, or by a sufficiently specific description if the name is unknown. The notice must also designate the method of recording the testimony.
Supporting sources
No. Rule 30(a)(2)(A)(ii) requires leave of court to depose a person who has already been deposed in the case. The court grants leave only to the extent consistent with the relevance and proportionality requirements of Rule 26(b)(1) and (2).
Supporting sources
…through a subpoena or court order. That burden, we believe, is necessarily implicit in the rules as now constituted.[^maj-10] Rule 30 (b), as presently written, gives the trial judge the requisite discretion to make a judgment as to whether discovery should be allowed as to written statements secured from witnesses. But…