HOW TO DOMESTICATE A FOREIGN SUBPOENA IN New Jersey

This article will provide guidance on How To Domesticate a Foreign Subpoena in New Jersey.    This article will provide guidance on Uniform Interstate Depositions And Discovery Act UIDDA New Jersey.  After New Jersey implemented the Uniformed Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act New Jersey on September 1, 2014, it joined the majority of states that have streamlined the process of issuing subpoenas for international depositions in accordance with the Uniformed Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act New Jersey rules.

UIDDA and New Jersey procedures stipulate that the clerk in the state where the out-of-state witness is located or where the deposition is scheduled has the jurisdictional basis for issuing a foreign subpoena in the state where the deposition is to take place upon presentation of a trial state court subpoena addressed to a witness and a service list of all counsel and unrepresented parties to an action.

Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (UIDDA)-New Jersey

 New Jersey Court Rules allow New Jersey-licensed attorneys to serve foreign subpoenas without paying the clerk a USD50.00 filing fee. Legal counsel from New Jersey is absent from this subpoena.) As an alternative, the New Jersey Superior Court Clerk may sign and issue a New Jersey Subpoena along with a Foreign Subpoena under the Uniformed Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act New Jersey

The Foreign Subpoena must include the phrase ‘For The Issuance Of A New Jersey Subpoena Under New Jersey Rule 4:11-4(B)’ after the case number. For Foreign and New Jersey Subpoenas, the foreign state title and case number are used under the UIDDA and New Jersey. Consequently, the Uniformed Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act New Jersey court rules require specific wording on NJ Subpoena Duces Tecum. A USD50.00 filing fee check made out to ‘Treasurer, State of New Jersey, is required. A service list of all counsel and unrepresented parties to an action must be included in the foregoing UIDDA and New Jersey papers provided to the clerk. Subpoenas for depositions and returns must be served at least eleven days in advance of their due dates.

Subpoenas from New Jersey and abroad must be returnable at the same location, date, and time in order to be a valid consideration in the judgment of the Uniformed Interstate Deposition and Discovery Act New Jersey. An Ad Testificandum Subpoena must be returnable in the same NJ County where it is served in order to be valid. Instead of a precise date with issuance and service time limits, it is permissible, even encouraged, for documents demanded by Duces Tecum Subpoenas to be presented at the office ‘within fifteen days after serving.’

HOW IS A SUBPOENA SERVED IN NEW JERSEY

A Subpoena Duces Tecum for documents and a supplementary Subpoena Ad Testificandum if the individual wants someone to testify with the desired records are required by the NJ Superior Court Clerk. The 

A subpoena from the State of New Jersey will require a list of all the parties to the action represented by counsel to comply with the UIDDA and New Jersey. It is necessary to recollect that subpoenas are presented to the Clerk in an electronic format. Subpoenas may be ‘domesticated’ (issued or signed) by the clerk in as little as two days or as long as two to three weeks, depending on workload and availability to be valid as per the UIDDA and New Jersey. The filing cost is also somewhat higher in these UIDDA and New Jersey cases.

The clerk will only accept the NJ Subpoenas from the NJ Court website. The wording of the subpoenas must be changed by looking at the different requirements as per the UIDDA and New Jersey. The clerk demands two different UIDDA and New Jersey subpoenas if the individual wants both document production and an appearance. A fee of USD50.00 must be paid to the clerk for each subpoena. Requests for documents should be made in the form of an ‘Exhibit’ in ‘MS Word or an email so that the document request may be copied and pasted simply.

HOW IS A SUBPOENA FILED IN NEW JERSEY

In order to preserve UIDDA and New Jersey testimony or evidence, or to inspect documents or property or copy documents, a person may file a verified petition, entitled in the petitioner's name, showing that [A.] the petitioner expects to be a party to an action cognizable in a court of this state but is currently unable to bring it; and [B.] what is the nature of the action. 

An application for an order described in the UIDDA and New Jersey petition must be served at least two days prior to the date of hearing by the petitioner on each person named in the petition as an expected adverse party. An attorney will be appointed for those served by publishing or other means if they are unrepresented. They will be allowed to cross-examine the deponent in the event that the deponent is not represented. If the court orders, the attorney's fees may be assessed to the petitioner. 

As soon as the court determines that preserving evidence and conducting an inspection is necessary to avoid injustice, it will issue an order naming and specifying the evidence to be preserved, any documents or property to be inspected, and any witnesses whose depositions may be taken. The order should also specify whether the witnesses' depositions will be taken orally or in writing. 

A deposition was taken that would be admissible in evidence in federal or state courts of the state in which it was taken, if so taken, may be used in any subsequent action between the same parties or their privies involving the same subject matter in any court having UIDDA and New Jersey jurisdiction.

FOREIGN SUBPOENA JURISDICTION

A subpoena may be issued to a witness by the Superior Court on ex parte petition if the deposition of that witness is to be taken as per the UIDDA and New Jersey requirements according to the laws of the United States or another nation for use in proceedings there. 

A foreign subpoena and a New Jersey subpoena, in the name of the Clerk of the Superior Court, must be submitted to an attorney authorized to practice in this state or to the Clerk of the Superior Court or designee if the deposition of a person is to be taken in this state pursuant to the laws of a foreign state for use in connection with proceedings there. ‘For the Issuance of a New Jersey Subpoena Under New Jersey Rule 4:11-4 (b)’ must appear underneath the case number on the international subpoena and be submitted to the Clerk of the Superior Court. 

No attendance in court is required if the individual desires a subpoena to be issued. To enforce a subpoena, quash or modify it, issue a protective order, or resolve any other dispute over the subpoena, a request for the issuance of a subpoena creates the necessary jurisdiction in this State; to impose sanctions on an attorney or party who requests the issuance of a subpoena for any action that would violate the Rules Governing the Courts of New Jersey State.

If a New Jersey court issues it, the name of that court must be stated, and the conditions of R. 4:14-7 must be met in the context of the UIDDA and New Jersey. It is necessary to integrate the foreign subpoena's terms and conditions to the extent that the UIDDA and New Jersey do not contradict the specified terms and conditions.

If the subpoena is issued, it must include or be accompanied by the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all counsel of record and any party not represented by counsel in the action to which the subpoena pertains. This must be done by identifying the foreign jurisdiction and court where the matter is pending in the title and case number of the foreign lawsuit.

Subpoenas for the production of evidence for discovery may be issued only to those who are forced to appear at a scheduled time and location for the taking of a deposition. Deponents must be informed that a motion to quash the subpoena has been filed. They must not produce or reveal the subpoenaed material unless they are compelled to do so by the court, or all parties approve the release to the case unless the deponents agree otherwise. The subpoena must be served on the witness and all parties no less than ten days prior to the appointed date. 

A subpoena would require that any motion or application to obtain a protective order or to enforce, quash, or modify an attorney's or clerk's subpoena must be made in accordance with the UIDDA and New Jersey rules and statutes and be submitted to the court in the county where discovery will be conducted or where the deponent resides, works, or does business. The subpoena's caption must be included in the document's heading. ‘Motion or Application Related to a Subpoena Issued Under R. 4:11-4(b)’ shall appear below the case number of the newly filed matter. The same subpoena must be the subject of a subsequent motion or application in pursuit of the UIDDA and New Jersey.

New Jersey

Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act Adopted - 2014
Bill Number: Court Rule
N.J. R. Of CT. 4.11-4
Guidance New Jersey Courts Click Here
New Jersey Courts Click Here

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Sources

1. States participating in the UIDDA: Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Delaware; District of Columbia; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; (Missouri pending as of 2020 HB 2570) Montana; Nevada; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

2. At the Richard J. Hughes Justice Complex, 25 West Market Street, 6th Floor North Wing, PO Box 971, Trenton, NJ 8625-0971

3. Subpoenas are required (documentation and evidence production) to state: ‘Provided that if you are notified that a motion to quash the subpoena has been filed, the subpoenaed evidence shall not be produced or released until the court orders so or the release is consented to by all parties to the action.’

4. You may get a copy of a New Jersey subpoena by visiting njcourts.gov.

5. Document list:

1. Signed domestic subpoena with originating court information, case number and phrase above the case number ‘FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A NEW JERSEY SUBPOENA UNDER NEW JERSEY RULE 4:11-4(b)’ s
2. Subpoena from the Superior Court of New Jersey, ‘Law Division,’ and Docket # filled out completely (without the clerk's signature) (use case number from your domestic subpoena)
3. The NJ Subpoena Duces Tecum must include quash phrase or be added to it... This material will not be produced or disclosed unless the court orders it or the release is agreed upon by all parties to the case if they are told that a motion to quash the subpoena has been filed.
4. Attachment containing the names of all the attorneys and unrepresented parties to the dispute
5. There will be a $50.00 filing fee for each New Jersey Subpoena issued, payable to the ‘Treasurer, State of New Jersey.’

6. Pre-complaint depositions may also be granted by a person who claims that owing to unusual circumstances, such depositions are required in order to comply with N.J.S.A. 2A:53a-27 to -29, which must be stated in detail by affidavit (Affidavit of Merit Statute).

7. in accordance with R. 4:4-4 and R. 4:4-5(a)(1).

8. Under R. 4:26-2, a child or mentally handicapped person might be considered an ‘anticipated adverse party.’

9. The court may then issue orders under R. 4:18 and R. 4:19 for the taking of depositions and inspections, respectively.

10. If a trial court verdict has been appealed, or if an appeal has not been made and the time has not yet elapsed, the trial court may authorize the taking of witness depositions to preserve their evidence for future trial court proceedings on motion. Among other things, the motion must include a list of the witnesses to be questioned, their addresses, and the nature of the evidence they are anticipated to provide. The court can order depositions if it determines that the testimony might avert a failure or delay in justice. R. 4:18-1 and R. 4:19 allow for such orders. They may be utilized in the same way and circumstances as those set out in these rules for depositions conducted as part of proceedings now before the court.

11. The petition should be titled ‘petition according to R. 4:11-4(a)’ in the Superior Court, Law Division, and should be submitted to the clerk of the court.

12. The individual who receives the subpoena should be informed that he or she has the right to move to quash or amend the subpoena under R. 4:10-3, R. 4:14-4, R. 4:23-1, or any other discovery rule available in the state of New Jersey.

13. New Jersey's Rules Governing the Courts, including the Rules of Professional Conduct, as well as any other relevant laws, govern the conduct of depositions and other discoveries under this rule, and they must be followed.