Disobedience to a subpoena requiring attendance of a witness before an officer out of court in a deposition taken pursuant to Title 4 (commencing with Section 2016.010), or refusal to be sworn as a witness at that deposition, may be punished as contempt, as provided in subdivision (e) of Section 2023.030, without the necessity of a prior order of court directing compliance by the witness.
§ 1991.1.Depositions; disobedience to subpoena or refusal to be sworn; punishment
Title 3. Of the Production of Evidence · Chapter 2. Means of Production · Last amended 2005 · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1991.1 allows a witness who disobeys a subpoena to appear before an officer at a deposition taken under the Civil Discovery Act, or who refuses to be sworn there, to be punished as contempt under the Discovery Act's own sanctions provision, without first needing a court order directing compliance.
Full Text of § 1991.1
Plain-English Summary
Section 1991 builds in a waiting period before a witness who balks at a deposition faces contempt: a report to the court, a hearing, and an order to comply, with punishment reserved for defying that order. This section carves out a faster track for depositions taken under the Civil Discovery Act.
When the deposition falls under that Act, disobeying a subpoena to attend before an officer outside court, or refusing to be sworn once there, can be punished as contempt right away, under the Discovery Act's own sanctions provision, without waiting for a prior court order compelling the witness to comply. The Discovery Act supplies its own enforcement machinery, and this section makes clear that machinery, not Section 1991's report-and-order sequence, governs depositions taken under it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a witness get a warning and court order before facing contempt at a Discovery Act deposition?
Not necessarily. Section 1991.1 allows contempt for disobeying the subpoena or refusing to be sworn without a prior court order compelling compliance.
Which sanctions provision governs contempt under this section?
Subdivision (e) of Section 2023.030, part of the Civil Discovery Act's own enforcement scheme.
How does this differ from the procedure in Section 1991?
Section 1991 generally requires a report to the court, a hearing, and a compliance order before punishing a witness examined outside court; this section skips that sequence for Discovery Act depositions.
Amendment History
(Added by Stats.1959, c. 1590, p. 3933, § 13. Amended by Stats.1996, c. 124 (A.B.3470), § 15.5; Stats.2004, c. 182 (A.B.3081), § 21, operative July 1, 2005.)
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the West's Annotated California Codes / Thomson Reuters. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: discovery act deposition contempt subpoenarefusing to be sworn deposition california