§ 13-30. Deposition Procedure

(a)Examination and cross-examination of deponents may proceed as permitted at trial. The officer before whom the deposition is to be taken shall put the deponent on oath and shall personally, or by someone acting under the officer's direction, record the testimony of the deponent. The testimony shall be taken stenographically or recorded by any other means authorized in accordance with Section 13-27 (f). If the testimony is taken stenographically, it shall be transcribed at the request of one of the parties.

(b)All objections made at the time of the examination to the qualifications of the officer taking the deposition, or to the manner of taking it, or to the evidence presented, or to the conduct of any party, and any other objection to the proceedings, shall be noted by the officer upon the deposition. Evidence objected to shall be taken subject to the objections. Every objection raised during a deposition shall be stated succinctly and framed so as not to suggest an answer to the deponent and, at the request of the questioning attorney, shall include a clear statement as to any defect in form or other basis of error or irregularity. A person may instruct a deponent not to answer only when necessary to preserve a privilege, to enforce a limitation directed by the court, or to present a motion under subsection (c) of this section. In lieu of participating in the oral examination, parties may serve written questions in a sealed envelope on the party taking the deposition and the party shall transmit the questions to the officer, who shall propound them to the witness and record the answers verbatim.

(c)At any time during the taking of the deposition, on motion of a party or of the deponent and upon a showing that the examination is being conducted in bad faith or in such manner as unreasonably to annoy, embarrass, or oppress the deponent or party, the court in which the action is pending may order the officer conducting the examination forthwith to cease taking the deposition, or may limit the scope and manner of the taking of the deposition as provided in Section 13-5. If the order made terminates the examination, it shall be resumed thereafter only upon the order of the court in which the action is pending.

(d)If requested by the deponent or any party, when the testimony is fully transcribed the deposition shall be submitted to the deponent for examination and shall be read to or by the deponent. Any changes in form or substance which the deponent desires to make shall be entered upon the deposition by the officer with a statement of the reasons given by the deponent for making them. The deposition shall then be signed by the deponent certifying that the deposition is a true record of the deponent's testimony, unless the parties by stipulation waive the signing or the witness is ill or cannot be found or refuses to sign. If the deposition is not signed by the deponent within thirty days after its submission to the deponent, the officer shall sign it and state on the record the fact of the waiver or of the illness or absence of the deponent or the fact of the refusal or failure to sign together with the reason, if any, given therefor; and the deposition may then be used as fully as though signed unless on a motion to suppress under Section 13-31 (c) (4) the judicial authority holds that the reasons given for the refusal or failure to sign require rejection of the deposition in whole or in part.

(e)The person recording the testimony shall certify on the deposition that the witness was duly sworn by the person, that the deposition is a true record of the testimony given by the deponent, whether each adverse party or his agent was present, and whether each adverse party or his agent was notified, and such person shall also certify the reason for taking the deposition. The person shall then securely seal the deposition in an envelope endorsed with the title of the action, the address of the court where it is to be used and marked “Deposition of (here insert the name of the deponent),” shall then promptly deliver it to the party at whose request it was taken and give to all other parties a notice that the deposition has been transcribed and so delivered. The party at whose request the deposition was taken shall file the sealed deposition with the court at the time of trial.

(f)Documents and things produced for inspection during the examination of the deponent, shall, upon the request of a party, be marked for identification and annexed to and returned with the deposition, and may be inspected and copied by any party, except that (1) the person producing the materials may substitute copies to be marked for identification, if the person affords to all parties fair opportunity to verify the copies by comparison with the originals, and (2) if the person producing the materials requests their return, the officer shall mark them, give each party an opportunity to inspect and copy them, and return them to the person producing them, and the materials may then be used in the same manner as if annexed to and returned with the deposition to the court, pending final disposition of the case.

(g)The parties may stipulate in writing and file with the court, or the court may upon motion order, that a deposition be taken by telephone, videoconference, or other remote electronic means. For the purposes of Sections 13-26 through 13-29 and this section, such a deposition is deemed taken at the place where the deponent is to answer questions. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the rules governing the practice, procedures and use of depositions shall apply to remote electronic means depositions. The following additional rules, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties or ordered by the court, shall apply to depositions taken by remote electronic means:

(1) The deponent shall be in the presence of the officer administering the oath and recording the deposition.

(2) Any exhibits or other demonstrative evidence to be presented to the deponent by any party at the deposition shall be provided to the officer administering the oath and all other parties prior to the deposition.

(3) Nothing in subsection (g) shall prohibit any party from being with the deponent during the deposition, at that party's expense; provided, however, that a party attending a deposition shall give written notice of that party's intention to appear at the deposition to all other parties within a reasonable time prior to the deposition.

(4) The party at whose instance the remote electronic means deposition is taken shall pay all costs of the remote electronic means deposition for the transmission from the location of the deponent and one site for participation of counsel located in the judicial district where the case is pending together with the cost of the stenographic, video or other electronic record. The cost of participation in a remote electronic means deposition from any other location shall be paid by the party or parties participating from such other location.

(h)Notwithstanding this section, a deposition may be attended by any party by remote electronic means even if the party noticing the deposition does not elect to use remote electronic means if (i) a party desiring to attend by remote electronic means provides written notice of such intention to all parties in either the notice of deposition or a notice served in the same manner as a notice of deposition and (ii) if the party electing to participate by remote electronic means is not the party noticing the deposition, such party pays all costs associated with implementing such remote electronic participation by that party.

(i)Nothing contained in any provision providing for the use of remote electronic means depositions shall prohibit any party from securing a representative to be present at the location where the deponent is located to report on the record any events which occur in that location which might not otherwise be transmitted and/or recorded by the electronic means utilized.

(j)The party on whose behalf a deposition is taken shall at such party's expense provide a copy of the deposition transcript and any permanent electronic record including audio or video tape to each adverse party.