HOW TO DOMESTICATE A FOREIGN SUBPOENA IN iowa

This article will provide guidance on the Uniform Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act, UIDDA Iowa.  Most litigators will have to take a deposition of a witness in another state at some time in their careers.  Before the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act were enacted, conducting out-of-state discovery was very hard because of the different processes across states. To serve a subpoena in the trial state, a party was needed to submit a notice of deposition in that state and then serve the witness under the law of the trial state. The clerk or judge in the discovery state would issue a subpoena if a notice of deposition were provided to them. Still, others demanded that an attorney in the discovery state file a miscellaneous action in order to establish jurisdiction over the witness, and another 20 states demanded that an attorney in the trial state issue a letter rogatory or commission in order to issue the subpoena.

While the Consistent Foreign Depositions Act (1920) and the Uniform Interstate and International Procedure Act (1962) attempted to develop uniform legislation on conducting out-of-state discovery, none was well-received and approved by the states.

The Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA) was enacted by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, currently known as the Uniform Law Commission 2007. Using UIDDA, plaintiffs may depose out-of-state persons and provide discoverable documents that may be found out of state quickly and uncomplicatedly. The UIDDA has been adopted in its whole or in part by the majority of states, including California, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico, greatly simplifying out-of-state discovery in those states.

Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA)-Iowa

Subpoenas issued in Iowa would need a complete list of names and contact information for all attorneys associated with this matter on both sides. Fees for legal counsel, document preparation, and delivery would be incurred.

In addition, if the applicant requires an Iowa-issued case number, they must issue the subpoena via the designated county clerk of court. The USD 50 court filing fee and the fees associated with the first choice would be charged per Iowa UIDDA Service law. The presiding officer must issue a subpoena at the request of a party. Under the filing requirements of Iowa UIDDA, Service requests for subpoenas must be sent to the presiding officer or designated filing clerk through the mail, email, or in-person delivery.

INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR A FOREIGN SUBPOENA IN IOWA

When requesting evidence, it is important to give all relevant Iowa UIDDA Service information about the parties involved in the case and the case number and name of the desired witness. If a deposition, telephone hearing, or in-person hearing is required of the witness, the request should specify that, as well as the time and day the witness will be required to attend in person or over the phone, as well as the location of the hearing and the technique used to record any deposition.

Subpoena requests must be submitted ten days before the planned hearing unless there are compelling grounds to allow later action. Subpoenas should be served in advance of any hearing in which testimony or Iowa UIDDA Service documents must be provided, and requesting parties are responsible for ensuring that this occurs. The petitioning party is liable for all Iowa UIDDA Service subpoena costs, witness fees, and transportation costs. If a witness is only called in for an opinion or examination, they may receive additional compensation based on the time spent and expertise required.

FORM OF A FOREIGN SUBPOENA IN IOWA

When a court of record in Iowa issues a ‘subpoena,’ it means a document that requires the person to attend or give testimony at a deposition; produce and allow inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in their possession; allow inspection of premises under the person's control, or allow the inspection of premises under the person's control.

Parties in an Iowa court proceeding in the county in which discovery is to be conducted obtain a signed, blank subpoena from the clerk of the court or arrange for an attorney retained by that party and authorized to practice law in Iowa to issue and sign the subpoena as a court officer. The clerk of court in Iowa must present the party with a signed but blank subpoena when a foreign subpoena is submitted.

Subpoenas must be issued from the Iowa court in the county where the discovery is to be conducted. However, in the Iowa court in the county where the discovery is to be conducted,  the title of the action and its docket number from the foreign jurisdiction shall be used;

The file and docket number of the court file must also be supplanted. No Iowa court file or docket number is required if a lawyer issues a subpoena. If action is taken, the clerk must open a court file and collect a USD 50 fee. The clerk must open a file and collect a USD50 fee if action is taken and a file has not previously been opened.

INTERSTATE DEPOSITIONS IN IOWA

Iowa UIDDA Service Rules or legislation must be complied with when a motion for a protective order, enforcement, quashing, or modification of a subpoena is filed. The prevailing party may recover any fees paid in connection with a move) against the losing party. In order for an attorney to bring such a motion or oppose it, he or she must be qualified to practice law in Iowa.

It is impossible to take an oral deposition anywhere in Iowa or within a 100-mile radius of an Iowa point. However, if the issue is important enough and the testimony cannot be reasonably obtained through written interrogatories or by deposition by telephone, the court may order it orally taken at any other specified location upon motion of the party desiring the deposition and hearing on notice to the other parties. A deponent must be subjected to examination by a judge in the county where the case is being litigated unless otherwise directed by a court.

It is the court's prerogative to order the party who gave notice of deposition to reimburse any other party who fails to appear or sends an attorney in response to that Iowa UIDDA Service notice, including reasonable attorney's fees, for the reasonable expenses the other party and the other party's attorney incurred in attending. The party giving Iowa UIDDA Service notice of the taking of a witness's deposition may be ordered to pay to such other party and the other party's attorney reasonable expenses incurred by such other party and the other party's attorney in attending if such other party expects the witness's deposition to be taken if such other party attends in person or through an attorney.

Unless all parties agree differently, the person reporting the testimony must be present when the evidence is given. Copy of any Iowa UIDDA Service exhibits to be presented to the witness during the deposition must be supplied in advance to all parties, including the deponent.

There may be no officers conducting depositions who are a party, a person financially involved in the case, an attorney for one of the parties, a representative of that party, or a representative of an attorney for either of those parties within the fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity.

ALTERNATIVE MEANS OF SERVING A FOREIGN SUBPOENA IN IOWA

Oaths may be administered by anybody who is allowed to administer oaths under the laws of the United States, this state, or any other state or location where the examination is taking place. An American diplomat, consul, vice-consul, or consular agent of the United States may accept a deposition on behalf of the United States in a foreign country. If a witness is a member of the U.S. military or navy, their Iowa UIDDA Service deposition may be taken before any officer in the judge advocate general's office or under the direction of that officer.

Commitment to take foreign depositions should only be granted when it is reasonable or required, upon request and notification, and with such conditions and instructions as reasonable or suitable. The deposition should be sent to the ‘Appropriate Judicial Authority of (country)’ and should include the name or title of the officer who will be taking the testimony. The clerk of the court where the Iowa UIDDA Service case is proceeding should issue subpoenas for people identified in and described in the notice of application if a party makes the application or if evidence of serving a notice to take depositions is provided. It is also possible to issue subpoenas in accordance with Iowa UIDDA Service provisions. 

LIMITATIONS TO DEPOSITION IN IOWA

No Iowa citizen may be summoned to appear if they are more than fifty miles from their residence, employment, or business. The party taking the deposition is responsible for paying the expenses of taking and obtaining the deposition, which cannot be used as evidence until the fees are paid. However, only those expenses paid as a result of the evidence submitted and acknowledged at trial will be awarded to the losing party by the decision.

Except for Iowa UIDDA Service objections placed on the party delivering the notice in writing as soon as possible, all notices of taking depositions are deemed waived. In the absence of a formal objection made before the deposition commences, or as soon as the objector learns of the objection or might find it with reasonable effort, any objections to the qualification of the officer are waived.

Unless specifically objected to during the deposition, mistakes or irregularities that arise during an oral deposition with regard to conduct or method of taking it, oath, or form of any question or response, and any other errors that may have been corrected, obviated, or eliminated, are waived. A witness's deposition testimony might be challenged at trial on any basis that would cause its exclusion if it were delivered in open court, with the exception of those grounds that may be eliminated or eliminated prior to or during the deposition.

Unless a move to suppress the deposition or portion of it is filed, any objections to transcribing testimony, drafting, signing, certifying, sealing, or sending the deposition or to the officer's handling of it are waived. The objector must submit this motion within a reasonable amount of time after becoming aware of the flaw or being able to do so with reasonable effort. The request will not be granted if the deficiency is severe and adversely impairs a party's entitlement.

ROLE OF THE COURT WHERE THE SUBPOENA IS RECEIVED

 A request to take depositions for the purpose of preserving testimony for use in a future action must be submitted in the court where the Iowa UIDDA Service action is likely to be brought. Affidavits must be included in the application, and the specific Iowa UIDDA Service information must be included. The applicant expects to be involved in some kind of action in an Iowa court of record, but it is presently not possible to file a claim in such court. The facts that the proposed testimony would demonstrate and the grounds for why Iowa UIDDA Service will be maintained. 

 After that, the applicant must serve a notice and a copy of the application to everyone mentioned in the application as an anticipated opposing party, informing them that the application will be heard at the time and location specified in the notice. At least twenty days before the hearing, the notice must be sent in accordance with the rules governing the delivery of original notifications other than via publication. For example, if service cannot be accomplished with due care on any anticipated adversary identified in an application, a court may mandate Iowa UIDDA Service by publishing or otherwise, or it may prescribe an expedited hearing if there is a showing of unusual circumstances.

The Court orders evidence to be preserved if it is convinced that the application is not for the purpose of discovery, that its permission may avoid future delays or failures in justice, and that the applicant is unable to file the anticipated action or cause it to be brought.   The court where the petition was filed must be assumed to relate to the court where the application for such deposition was submitted for the purposes of applying these standards to depositions for perpetuating testimony. All such depositions must be submitted within thirty days of the date set for taking them unless the court grants an extension, and they cannot be used as evidence if they are not.

Iowa

Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act Adopted - 2013
Bill Number: Court Rule
Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.1702 (2)
Iowa Judicial Branch Click Here

Rule 1.1702 - Uniform interstate depositions and discovery

1. 1702(1)Definitions. In this rule:

a. "Foreign jurisdiction" means a state other than Iowa.

b. "Foreign subpoena" means a subpoena issued under the authority of a court of record of a foreign jurisdiction.

c. "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.

d. "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

e. "Subpoena" means a document, however, denominated, issued under the authority of a court of record of Iowa requiring a person to:

(1) Attend or give testimony at a deposition;

(2) Produce and permit inspection and copying of designated books, documents, records, electronically stored information, or tangible things in the possession, custody, or control of the person; or

(3) Permit inspection of premises under the control of the person.

1. 1702(2)Issuance of the subpoena.

a. To obtain issuance of a subpoena under this rule, a party to a proceeding in a foreign jurisdiction must either:

(1) request a signed, blank subpoena from the clerk of an Iowa court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted pursuant to rule 1.1701(2); or

(2) arrange for an attorney who is retained by that party and who is licensed or otherwise authorized to practice law in Iowa to issue and sign the subpoena as an officer of the court pursuant to rule 1.1701(2). Obtaining and completing a subpoena under rule 1.1702 does not constitute an appearance in the courts of this state.

b. When a party submits a foreign subpoena to a clerk of court in this state, the clerk, pursuant to rule 1.1701(2), shall provide the party with a subpoena that is signed but otherwise blank.

c. A subpoena under this rule must:

(1) Comply with rule 1.1701(1), provided, however, that for purposes of rule 1.1701(1)(a)

(1), the Iowa court, in the county in which discovery is to be conducted, shall be listed as the court from which the subpoena is issued, and for purposes of rule 1.1701(1)(a)(2), the title of the action and its docket number from the foreign jurisdiction shall be used;

(2) Contain or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all counsel of record in the proceeding to which the subpoena relates and of any party not represented by counsel; and

(3) Include a copy of the foreign subpoena as an attachment.

d. Form 13 or Form 15 of rule 1.1901 may be used and shall be sufficient under this rule, so long as the form includes the information required by rule 1.1702(2)(c), and a copy of the foreign subpoena is attached as required by rule 1.1702(2)(c)(3).

1. 1702(3)Service of subpoena. A subpoena issued under rule 1.1702(2) must be served in compliance with rule 1.1701(3).

1. 1702(4)Deposition, production, and inspection. Rule 1.1701(4)-(7) applies to subpoenas issued under rule 1.1702(2).

1. 1702(5)Court file and docket number. An attorney may issue a subpoena without an Iowa court file being opened or a docket number assigned. If action is taken pursuant to rule 1.1702(2)(b), the clerk shall open a court file and collect a $50 fee. If action is taken pursuant to rule 1.1702(6) and a file has not previously been opened, the clerk shall open a file and collect a $50 fee.

1. 1702(6)Motion to court. A motion to the court for a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify a subpoena issued under rule 1.1702(2) must comply with the rules or statutes of this state and be submitted to the court in the county in which discovery is to be conducted. Any fee paid in connection with the filing of a motion under rule 1.1702(6) shall be recoverable by the successful party against the losing party. In addition, the provisions of rule 1.517 apply to motions brought under this rule. An attorney who files such a motion or a resistance thereto must be eligible to appear in the courts of Iowa.

Iowa. R. Civ. P. 1.1702

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Sources

1. According to Iowa Code § 622.69, witnesses who are subpoenaed are entitled to receive witness fees for attending an in-person hearing or deposition, as well as mileage reimbursement for each mile traveled by a summoned witness.

2. But such additional compensation must not exceed the amount set out in Iowa Code section 622.72.

According to the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, the presiding officer may dismiss or alter a subpoena upon request. A hearing on a motion to dismiss or amend a subpoena must be established immediately.

3. It is permitted to ask questions. Rule 1.710 waives any objections to the form of any written interrogatory until the objections are served on the interrogating party and, as to the final interrogatories permitted, within three days following the service of those last interrogatories.

4. Every anticipated adverse party's name or description, including a physical address if one is available.

5. Court orders specify the deponents, their subject matter, the date, time, and venue of the depositions, and whether they will be conducted orally or in writing.