Legal Insight and Litigation

Rule 30(b)(6) in Depositions and at Trial

One of the big “if only” moments in corporate litigation concerns testimony: if only a corporation as a corporation could face deposition. Despite the legal fiction that corporations have an identity, it remains impossible, absent some serious and frightening advances in future technology, for a corporation to testify on its own behalf. To get around this dilemma, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure include Rule 30(b)(6) (“30(b)(6)”). This rule allows a party to name an entity such as a corporation, an association or a governmental agency as a deponent, and that entity will then designate a representative to be deposed on behalf of the company. (Kentucky’s Civil Rule of Procedure 30.02(6) substantially tracks the federal rule, so this information applies to both Kentucky and federal courts.) The rub is that 30(b)(6) deponents face a different set of standards for testimony than regular deponents, and that difference could create havoc for a client, up to and including sanctions. More >