Delaware General Assembly

Signed 7/12/10

The General Assembly has ended, the current status is the final status.

5/11/10

Blevins

Rep. M. Smith

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE UNIFORM INTERSTATE DEPOSITIONS AND DISCOVERY ACT.

This Bill adopts the Uniform Interstate Depositions and Discovery Act (“UIDDA”), promulgated by the Uniform Law Commission in 2007. The goal of UIDDA is to simplify and standardize the current patchwork of procedures across the various states for deposing witnesses for purposes of out-of-state litigation. Uniform procedures have become necessary as the amount of litigation involving individuals and documents located outside of the trial state has increased. This Bill advances this goal by creating an efficient and inexpensive clerical procedure by which Delaware courts will issue subpoenas for depositions and for the production of discoverable materials located in Delaware when presented with a subpoena issued under the authority of an out-of-state court. Litigants can present a clerk of the Delaware court, in the county where the discoverable materials are sought, with a subpoena issued by a court in the trial state. Once the clerk receives the foreign subpoena, the clerk will issue a subpoena for service upon the person or entity on which the original subpoena is directed. The terms of the issued subpoena must incorporate the same terms as the original subpoena and contain the contact information for all counsel of record and any party not represented by counsel. This Bill creates a process that requires minimal judicial oversight and eliminates the need for obtaining a commission or local counsel in the discovery state, obtaining letters rogatory, or the filing of a miscellaneous action during the discovery phase of litigation. Discovery authorized by the subpoena must comply with other applicable Delaware law and court rules. Furthermore, motions to quash, enforce, or modify a subpoena issued pursuant to this bill shall be brought in a Delaware Court and governed by Delaware law and court rules.

N/A

N/A

Takes effect upon being signed into law

N/A

View HTML View PDF