Indiana Lawyer Turns to Brian Paul for Insight on Indiana Supreme Court’s New Framework for Deposition of Executives

Indiana Lawyer reported that the Indiana Supreme Court developed a new framework regarding deposition of high-level executives and established elements for careful consideration of deposition requests. The framework came from the court’s ruling in a lawsuit where the plaintiffs dispatched deposition notices to high-level executives of a company.

The publication turned to business litigation partner Brian Paul for insight on the matter. Paul is representing the company in the case and shared that the Supreme Court’s opinion is a reminder for trial courts to be mindful of people in leadership positions. He noted that the Supreme Court’s opinion alerts trial courts not to reflexively rubber-stamp motions to depose witnesses who occupy a leadership position.

“There is a lot of what I would call open space, but not because of any defect in the opinion,” Paul said. “It’s simply because the court recognized that whether a showing of good cause has been made is ultimately a discretionary determination that depends on all of the facts and circumstances.”

Paul explained that under the new method, the party opposing the deposition must show good cause for protecting the high-ranking official and he highlighted that “The (Supreme Court) also said, ‘You trial courts have to take into account the circumstances that are sort of unique to apex officials.’ In other words, ‘You can’t necessarily treat them like every other witness because they’re … in a unique position that makes them particularly vulnerable to numerous repetitive and potentially harassing depositions.’”

The full article is available for Indiana Lawyer subscribers.