Summary
The Ohio Supreme Court denied the Ohio Democratic Party’s petition for a commission to take out-of-state depositions in connection with an expedited election case. The court held that the cited Florida rule applied only to depositions in foreign countries, Ohio’s Uniform Foreign Depositions Act did not apply, and Ohio Civil Rule 28(B) appeared to permit the depositions without court intervention.
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Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.300(b)(2) authorized or required an Ohio court to issue a commission for depositions that would be taken in Florida.
- Whether Ohio Revised Code 2319.09, Ohio's version of the Uniform Foreign Depositions Act, authorized issuance of the requested commission.
- Whether the requested depositions could be taken in Florida under Ohio Civil Rule 28(B) without issuance of a commission.
Holdings
- Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.300(b)(2) applies only to depositions taken in foreign countries and therefore did not apply to depositions that would be taken in Florida.
- Ohio Revised Code 2319.09 did not support the requested commission because it applies to mandates issued by courts of other states or countries compelling witnesses to testify in Ohio, and no such mandate was alleged.
- Ohio Civil Rule 28(B) appears to permit depositions taken outside Ohio before a person authorized to administer oaths where the deposition occurs, without the necessity of a court-issued commission.
Key quotations
“First, nothing in the cited Florida Rule of Civil Procedure authorizes or requires such a commission before a deposition may be taken in Florida of a Florida business or resident.” (¶ 5)
“Based on the foregoing, we deny relator’s petition for a commission to take out-of-state depositions.” (¶ 12)
Factual background
The case concerned an expedited election matter involving political advertising expenditures. Relator sought to depose Clint Cline and the designated representative of Design 4 Advertising, Inc., a Florida advertising and marketing firm. Relator alleged that Common Sense Ohio had contributed $1,537,500 to Common Sense 2006 and that the entire amount had been disbursed to Design 4 to produce and air political advertisements.
Procedural history
The Ohio Democratic Party filed its petition on September 7, 2006, seeking a commission under Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.300(b)(2). The Supreme Court of Ohio denied the petition, concluding that the cited authorities did not authorize or require a commission for the contemplated Florida depositions and that the depositions could apparently proceed without court intervention. The merits of the underlying election case remained pending.