Episode 160 - Depo Case Roundup for the Week of August 25, 2025

This week’s roundup spotlights four brand-new deposition rulings from across the country. Two address when plaintiffs may appear remotely—what courts require, what constitutes good cause, and the practical showings that move the needle. The other two confront a quiet but consequential trial hazard: deposition testimony that’s read or played for the jury yet never placed into the record. (Many reporters pause their keyboards during read-ins, assuming the material is already transcribed—an easy oversight that can derail an appeal if the missing testimony is essential.) Join us for a concise tour of the standards, the pitfalls, and the simple steps to protect your record before it’s too late. It's another critical episode from the country's leading expert on depositions. Citations and parentheticals to every case discussed appear in our show notes. Have a great week!SHOW NOTES**Added after episode aired**White v. Lozano, No. 13-24-00336-CV, 2025 WL 1788040, at *9 (Tex. App. June 30, 2025) (court reporter failed to transcribe the depositions or include the video recordings in the appellate record. This was error, but, because White's counsel did not object to the reporter's failure, he cannot now complain of it on appeal)**Original Case List**Insight Terminal Solutions, LLC v. Cecelia Financial Management, et al., No. 24-5222, 2025 WL 2434894 (6th Cir. August 25, 2025) (reversing trial court’s ruling that deposition was categorically inadmissible because defendants did not have an opportunity to cross-examine a 30 B6 deponent before his death)Fed.R.Civ.P. 32(a) (setting three-part test for admissibility of deposition testimony at trial)Treharne v. Callahan, 426 F.2d 58 (3d Cir. 1970) (court upheld the district court's discretionary admission of written interrogatory answers given by the now-deceased defendant, even though the plaintiff could not cross-examine; under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26 and 33, answers to interrogatories can be used to the same extent as depositions, which are admissible if the witness is dead; further, the need for the evidence—being the only defense evidence—outweighed the lack of cross-examination, especially where death was not caused by the party offering the evidence and there was no fault involved)Duttle v. Bandler & Kass, 127 F.R.D. 46 (S.D.N.Y. 1989) (magistrate declined to exclude a deposition taken without defense counsel present, even though the witness died before cross-examination could occur; under Rule 32(a), depositions of deceased witnesses may be admitted if the party had notice and opportunity to participate, and the prejudice to the party proffering the deposition (who would lose critical evidence) outweighed potential prejudice to the opponent. Court proposed that any prejudice could be minimized by stipulating to facts the defense might have developed via cross-examination, reducing the impact of any lost impeachment opportunity)Derewecki v. Pennsylvania R. Co., 353 F.2d 436 (3d Cir. 1965) (trial and appeals courts admitted decedent’s incomplete depositions as evidence, despite the absence of cross-examination by the defendant who had no chance to cross-examine before the witness died; Rule 26 authorized admission of depositions when the deponent is deceased as long as the circumstances justified it, and both parties had agreed the deposition was “completed” for evidentiary purposes; further, the harm in excluding the sole direct evidence of how the accident occurred outweighed the right to cross-examination. Courts must consider whether the lack of cross is due to fault; here, no such fault was shown)Waterman S. S. Corp. v. Gay Cottons, 414 F.2d 724 (9th Cir. 1969) (deposition of a witness who died before any cross-examination by the adverse party was admitted in bench trial; where there was no realistic possibility that cross-examination would have materially aided the party, exclusion was not required. Further, deposition testimony corroborated by other evidence; thus, lack of cross-examination did not affect the outcome)In re Reingold, 157 F.3d 904 (5th Cir. 1998) (testimony excluded at trial level; exclusion reversed. Trial court excluded party-plaintiff’s perpetuation deposition, taken while the plaintiff was gravely ill and ended before cross-examination could be completed due to the witness's declining condition and ultimate death; Fifth Circuit held this exclusion to be a clear abuse of discretion and granted mandamus relief directing admission of the video deposition; FRCP 32(a) creates strong presumption favoring admission of a deceased witness’s deposition. Exclusion is only justified by a specific and particularized showing of prejudice, such as stating what crucial areas would have been dealt with in cross-examination; a mere generalized complaint about the lack of cross is insufficient. Since the opposing party had already conducted a substantial deposition of the witness in prior proceedings, the risks of prejudice were further minimized)North Carolina v. Johnson, No. COA24-451, 2025 WL 2408913 (N.C. Ct. App. Aug. 20, 2025) (court could not consider arguments in favor of reversal that were based on videotaped testimony played at trial but not placed into the trial record)G.W. Aru LLC, et al. v. W.R. Grace & Co. No. CV JKB-22-2636, 2025 WL 2402194 (D. Md. Aug. 19, 2025) (court ordered parties to transcript deposition excerpts played at trial, and then file those excerpts by stipulation, where they had not been entered into the docket)Shumaker v. Alarsi, et al., No. 1:23-CV-4-SA-DAS, 2025 WL 2418386 (N.D. Miss. Aug. 20, 2025) (rejecting motion for protective order, to allow plaintiffs to avoid 900-mile trip for in-person deposition, where the motion lacked any meaningful detail showing good cause for such an order)Shah v. Fortive Corporation, et al., Case No. 1:22-cv-312 (S.D. Ohio Aug. 21, 2025) (rejecting plaintiff's request to appear remotely where travel to the forum of the litigation would require "40,000 miles of flight over 48 hours"; plaintiff failed to show distinct hardship or expense)