Okada v. Eighth Judicial District Court

Summary

The Nevada Supreme Court denied Kazuo Okada’s petition for a writ of prohibition or mandamus challenging an order denying his motion for a protective order. The court held that Okada had to show good cause to change the location of his deposition from Las Vegas and that the district court acted within its discretion in permitting a deposition lasting up to ten days rather than the presumptive one-day limit under NRCP 30(d)(1).

Holdings

1. NRCP 26(c) does not create a presumption requiring a defendant's deposition to occur where the defendant resides or where a corporate defendant has its principal place of business. The party seeking a protective order must establish good cause for changing the noticed deposition location.
2. NRCP 30(d)(1)'s one-day, seven-hour limit is presumptive rather than absolute, and a district court may authorize additional deposition time when justified by the circumstances identified in NRCP 30(d)(1) and NRCP 26(b)(2). The district court did not abuse its discretion by permitting a ten-day deposition subject to Okada's ability to seek shortening if the examination became duplicative, harassing, or unduly burdensome.
3. Although the challenged discovery order did not fall within the court's ordinary presumptive categories for writ review, the court could exercise its discretion to consider the petition because it presented important legal issues requiring clarification and public policy supported invoking original jurisdiction.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Nevada law creates a presumption that a defendant's deposition must be conducted where the defendant resides or where a corporate defendant has its principal place of business.
2. What standard and factors govern a motion for a protective order seeking to change the location of a party's deposition under NRCP 26(c).
3. Whether the district court abused its discretion by permitting Okada's deposition to proceed in Las Vegas for up to ten days despite NRCP 30(d)(1)'s presumptive one-day, seven-hour limit.

Disposition

writ_denied