Episode 106 -A Killer Option for Choosing Potent 30(b)(6) Designees

In this episode, Jim Garrity offers up a clever idea for turning your skills in choosing 30(b)(6) designees into a deposition superpower. On the flip side, Garrity shares ideas on how to use this same principle to gain compliance from organizations that resist and delay your efforts to set corporate representative depositions. As always, the research on which this episode is based appears in the show notes below. Last point: Do you have 60 seconds to leave us a 5-star review, wherever you get your podcast episodes? These episodes are ad-free, so the only way you can really say thanks is to leave us a high rating. It literally takes less than a minute, and seeing great scores is such a huge thrill for our production and research staff. We really do appreciate you! Thank you again, and have a great week!SHOW NOTESThe Deutsche Bank Entities’ Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel, etc. (ECF Doc. 351); Order on Plaintiffs’ Motion to Compel, etc. (ECF Doc. 364), In re Enron Corporation Securities Derivative & “ERISA” Litigation, Case No. 4:02-md-01446, Civil Action No. H-03-1276, Consol. Lead Civil Action No. H-01-3624 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 3, 2005)Ierardi v. Lorillard, Inc., 1991 WL 158911, Case No. CIV-A 90-7049 (E. D. Pa. Aug. 13, 1991) (discussing use of former employee as corporate designee)Sunbeam Corp. v. Black & Decker (U.S.) Inc., 151 F.R.D. 11 (D. Rhode Island 1993) (plaintiff Sunbeam designated a professor to testify as 30(b)(6) representative in patent infringement litigation, where topics included potential prior art known to Sunbeam, the criteria employed by Sunbeam in determining the scope of each of the claims of the patent in suit, and the meaning of certain patent terms)Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Corley, 2000 WL 621120, No. 00-CIV-277 (S.D.N.Y. May 12, 2000) (where defendant opted to proceed with deposition under rule 30(b)(6), it would not be heard to complain when plaintiff designated someone who was not an officer, director, or managing agent of plaintiff)Phillips v. American Honda Motor Co., Inc., et al., 2005 WL 1527685 (S. D. Ala. June 27, 2005) (denying motion for sanctions where multiple defendants all relied on the same single corporate designee, who not only did not work for any corporate defendants, but who did not speak English)Guinnane v. Dobbins, 2020 WL 4734897 at *4-5 (D. Mont. Aug. 14, 2020) (“Second, Rule 30(b)(6) does not provide a mechanism by which a party can simply refuse to produce or prepare its designee on noticed topics”)Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(b)(6) (allowing entity to designate, without limitation, “other persons who consent to testify on its behalf")